Fairy Tail's Orange Flash
by DarkSmokePuncher
Summary: After a certain event Naruto finds himself on the brink of death in a strange new world, with the Nine Tailed Demon Fox extracted from him. Is this the end for the blond or will this be a new beginning with a family that loves him? Bigger Summary inside
1. Chapter 1 The Cait is out of the bag

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Hello, hello, everyone! First Chapter of **'Fairy Tail's Orange Flash**' is here! This is my first story on this site, so I'm feeling a mixture of excitement and fear. I hope you peeps enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it. ^^ Even more actually! First off, I'll start with a couple of small things that need to be said:

The basic idea for this story isn't originally mine. Thanks goes to **ShadowStar91** and by extension **Advent of Shadows** for that. Go check them out, they have a couple of interesting stories I personally enjoyed. That's all I've taken actually, with SS91's permission of course. I haven't read **"Soaring through the skies" **beyond the first chapter regrettably, because my brain kicked me with this story and I just had to write it. ^^' This doesn't mean his story is bad! Au contraire, it looked really promising, so make sure to check it out. I just didn't want to have things repeat too much.

Second, my Author's Ramblings will usually be at the end of chapters. Sometimes at beginnings, but mostly after it's done.. I'm a moody person, so it will be however I feel like it at the time. ^^' The Prologue will be three chapters long which I already have written, so I will post those in 1-2 day intervals.. It might be even shorter, because I can be really impatient and excitable at times. =S

Third, standard at the beginning of the series, I won't repeat it, since I'll most likely forget: **Disclaimer: The characters of Naruto and Fairy Tail belong to Masashi Kishimoto and Hiro Mashima respectively. Huge thanks to them, for their great creations and for giving me the opportunity to go wild with my imagination. XD The rest is mine, which isn't really that much.. or impressive..**

Finally.. Enjoy! If it's not too much to ask for, please review at the end, saying what you liked and didn't like, so I can improve on it. ^^

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**Summary:** After a dreadful event no one could have predicted, Naruto finds himself on the brink of death in a strange new world, with the Nine Tailed Demon Fox extracted from him. Is this the end for the blond boy or will this be a new beginning where he will no longer be alone, with a family that loves him and friends alongside which he will take on various adventures and powerful enemies?

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**Prologue**

Chapter 1: The Cait***** is out of the bag.

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The late-afternoon sun shone brightly at the top of the cloudless blue sky, sending its rays down onto the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Said village went by many names, but no matter what you called it, certain things always remained a fact.

It was a ninja village. It was in fact the Fire Country's, one of the five great Elemental Nations' only ninja village. The village itself was surrounded by a gigantic wall, no doubt built to protect it against any enemy invaders, separating the structures from what can only be described as a vast forest, which was surrounding it on all fronts. The Hidden Leaf had several giant gates, which served both as an entrance and an exit for anyone who wished to visit or leave. There was only one spot which wasn't covered by the wall, primarily the reason for that being an enormous cliff overlooking the village in its place.

On the cliff, there were four faces of men carved into the rock. From left to right, they were the faces of Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato Namikaze. The faces of the four Hokage**[1]**, beloved leaders of the village, renowned as some of the greatest ninja to have lived.. or in the case of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, to still live.

The heads of the First through Forth, carved the way they were, seemed as if they were watching over the people of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. If you imagined it, you could see pride, happiness and hope for their home and their people. Today though.. Today you would see disappointment.

10th of October. The day the Nine Tailed Demon Fox unexpectedly attacked the village, causing destruction and death along its path. The day Minato Namikaze, exceptional ninja, leader and hero gave his life to protect the village and its people, defeating the vile demon in the process. Or that was the official story.

The truth was much crueler. The Forth Hokage did sacrifice his life, but it wasn't a sacrifice to defeat the demon, for even as powerful as he was, he was unable to manage such a feat. Minato gave his life away, using a forbidden technique to seal the demon into the body of a new-born baby, making it the cage of the Nine Tailed Demon Fox.

And herein was the cause of the disappointment of the great ninja leaders. Instead of being seen as a hero and enjoying himself at the festival taking place in celebration of the Fox's defeat, the jailer of the demon, this child, was spending his birthday alone.

Naruto Uzumaki, recently turned seven years old, sat atop the head of the Forth Hokage, his idol. His cerulean eyes looked over the village where festivities were currently taking place, where people would go around happily enjoying themselves. The village that hated him, the village that ignored him, without even letting him know of the reason. All Naruto Uzumaki knew was that he was alone, without parents, without siblings, that there was no one to support him and spend his birthday with him.

Letting out a strained and audible sigh, he turned his tear-filled eyes away from the village, slowly standing up and walking away. Naruto had shorter than average high for a boy his age. He had blond, spiky hair which boasted a mind of its own, since no amount of combing would ever be enough to make it submit. He wore a white T-shirt with an orange swirl at the front and green baggy shorts, with blue sandals on his feet. But the most characteristic feature of the seven years old boy was what looked like whiskers marks, three on each cheek right below his beautiful cerulean orbs.

Not sparing another glance at the village, Naruto began his slow and void of energy walk towards his solitary home.

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A lone cloaked figure made its way along an old, forgotten path. It led to the edge of some cliffs, overlooking the great ocean. The sound of the violent waves crashing into the rocks, chipping them away and dispersing countless water droplets into the air, could be heard from afar. As the figure continued down the path, he started descending lower and lower, coming close to the raging waters until he reached the end, right at the edge of a steep cliff. He took a large whiff of the air and as the smell of the ocean itself invaded his lungs, he released it in an audible sigh.

He looked in front of him and smiled. There was nothing but the wild waves and a few clouds in the late-afternoon sky ahead. Indeed, his group's resident illusionist was very skilled. He lifted his arm slowly as it began to glow in a faint green light. He stretched it in front of him, above his head, seemingly at the nothingness that lied in the ocean, and waved it. After the third wave the area started to get distorted as a small magical circle appeared in the air and by the fifth it had already completely changed.

Now the old path didn't end abruptly, but it continued upwards onto a rocky headland. Now, it could be clearly seen that it led to what looked like an ancient keep. Blaire McGuire smiled as he continued walking ahead. Such a large scale permanent illusion would be hard to pull off even for a master illusionist of her calibre. Luckily, illusions weren't her only forte and with the aid of some well placed runes, she was able to not only cast it, but keep it sustained at the cost of relatively small amount of magical power.

The cloaked man absentmindedly made a curve to the right, still following the same path. He soon reached stair-steps, that led up towards the remains of a now ruined wall with a disintegrating from the old-age wooden gate. The wall was built right between two large cliffs, which would get the defenders quite the advantage over any army stupid enough to try and attack the gate head-on. Indeed, the keep was built in a very strategic location by his ancestors. Well, they couldn't be considered his ancestors really.

Blaire McGuire, or rather the body of Blaire McGuire, had the appearance of taller than average man, with blue-green eyes and red-orange curly hair and beard. He had large muscled arms and even larger chest and stomach. Beneath his black cloak, he wore a white buttoned T-shirt, blue pants, leather boots and a leather belt around his waist. Of course, he didn't really look like that. This was merely the appearance of the body he had possessed.

As he moved past the gate and continued towards the plaza, his hand absently brushed over the leather-encased book that was chained to his belt. Leonard, master of dark magic and sorcery, could only be grateful to whoever it was that sent Blaire his way and made him pick the book he was sealed in out of curiosity. He still couldn't believe his luck at times and thought he was under an illusion or had gone insane in the confines of that damnable book.

And yet.. Here he was. In the possession of a suitable body, about to perform a ritual that would grant him the power he had lost, the power that he so rightfully deserved! As he reached the plaza, he found himself in front of a large round piece of rock with various runes and circles painted on it, with the whole pentagram stretching outside and all around it, drawn on the grass-less ground.

Yet that wasn't the only thing that greeted him. The other four members of their small group stood or sat there, preoccupied with various things, while they awaited his arrival. Again, he had to thank whatever luck bestowed him for such useful.. tools to complete his plan. Of course, it had taken time to find all the right people with enough magical power. But after two long years, everything was gathered and was ready for the ritual they had all prepared.

His eyes moved onto each of his cloaked companions. Or rather some were cloaked, in the case of two particular individuals there was definitely not enough clothing to be even barely considered decent. He first looked at a man known as Cornelius Wright.

He was a fat short man, with black curly hair. He had tanned skin and brown, almost black squinty eyes. His round nose and big mouth only reinforced the pigly impression he gave off. Although, not as much as the smell. At times, Leonard was sure the vile _thing_ had a mind of its own. He sometimes wondered what amount of poor hygiene would it take to give birth to a spawn like that, no matter how much Cornelius claimed the stench came from his potions. Indeed, Cornelius Wright was a potions mage, utilizing various alchemical mixtures and infusing them with his magical power to produce varying effects from creatures made from poison or acid to different degrees of explosion. The black mage actually had suspicion that the stench was the product of an accident with Cornelius' potions and the poor hygiene. And he was certain the fat man used it as a weapon, which made him a fearsome man indeed.

His reason for being here was simple. Greed. He had a lot of money and he wanted more money. And he believed that he would obtain vast riches after acquiring more power. He was exactly what Leonard had needed, because funding this little operation was quite financially taxing and despite all of his complains at spending his precious wealth, Cornelius had provided. As for clothing, the few instances Leonard saw him without the cloak, he wore light blue robes and yellow pointy shoes. The stenchmaster made it a point to wear the cloak most of the time, after the ramblings of the insane member of their group.

Blaire's possessed eyes moved onto said member. Peter Sleeck. A man very well defined by his name. He had pale skin with long black oily hair. Wrinkles marred his white face, around his yellow eyes and at the edges of his darkened lips, signifying he was probably in his mid-forties. Those weren't the only things surrounding his mouth, as he had a thin black goatee, extending a bit below his chin.

This sorcerer practised a forbidden and dangerous aspect of magic. Necromancy. More specifically, he had an aptitude for Soul Stealing. It was an atrocious magic, but Leonard needed it. He hadn't shared this little piece of information with the others, but a few souls were needed for the ritual as well and he wasn't willing to sacrifice his companions. Oh, not that he was feeling sentimental or anything.. hilarious like that. No, he needed their substantial magical power for the ritual, something you can't use when you don't have a soul.

Snapping from his inner musings Leonard continued observing the necromancer. Sleek's unusual choice in magical arts more than accounted for his attire. Beneath the ever present cloak, he wore a dark violet robe. Over it he had what looked like chest armour, made from white bones. He had the same type of armour over his forearms and tights and wore boots made of the same material. Which was bones. He wore a belt around his waste, made of skulls which gave the overall impression the man was obsessed with the human skeleton. Most likely not in a healthy way.

The necromancer's reason for participation was simple as well. He was getting old and he wanted immortality. And he believed the ritual would help him obtain power to achieve his ridiculous dream. Who knows, maybe it would have.

Leonard let out a sigh as he moved onto the next half of the group. The half behind the reason for most of Sleek's insane ramblings. He looked at a scarcely clad man, going by the name of Babajide. He had lean muscular body and dark skin. His head was bald and he had brown chocolate eyes. Various tribal markings were painted over his face in white, continuing down his neck and onto his chest. The reason the dark sorcerer could see that, was because Babajide only wore what looked like a leopard pelt around his waist. He was barefooted as well, although there were pieces of leopard pelt around his ankles as well going up to his knees. Around his waist pelt, there were various trinkets, amulets and cylinders, as well as a medium sized pouch strapped to his back, no doubt filled with things needed for the purpose of helping him with his strange magic.

Babajide was a witch doctor. Or at least, once was one. Now he had progressed beyond the healing purposes of his art into the sphere of witchcraft itself. The reason behind what prompted that change was the same reason he was a part of their group. Vengeance. The red haired man didn't know the whole details, not because of Babajide's unwillingness to share them, but more because of the strange way the dark skinned man spoke. From what he had gathered, the witch doctor's tribe had been captured and sacrificed one night, him being the only one managing to escape. Leonard mused seeing something like that would probably make any man seek revenge. Not that he cared, although he supposed he should be happy for it, since that was the reason Babajide was with them. And his expertise in dark rituals was without a doubt a great help.

Most of the group's companions had simple reasons for being a part of their modest gathering. Greed. Immortality. Vengeance. Leonard had to confess, even his reason was simple. He wanted power to restore himself to his former glory. But he wasn't sure about the reasons of the group's final member, something that worried him a bit.

Shaking his head lightly, he set his gaze over the only female present in the plaza. There on one of the many mossy stones, in all her beauty, laid Morgana. Leaning on her elbows she observed the interactions of the others with apparent apathy until she turned her gaze towards the newcomer.

Morgana was in every definition of the word a gorgeous fair-skinned woman. Her beautiful raven hair went down her bare back, with two strands held in four small bronze cylinders, two longer above two shorter, as they fell on the sides of her bewitching face. An intense gaze was the product of soft-silver eyes and her lips were touched with royal purple lipstick. Her clothing consisted of a large bronze belt strapped tightly around her slender waist with the front being a big circle, positioned over her flat stomach. From the circle, two pieces of silky royal purple cloth stretched over her chest, joining behind her neck, barely covering her large breasts. The other ends of the cloth wrapped around her waist underneath the belt and fell loosely, completing the dress, over her long legs with a slit starting right above her right tight. She had three large bronze ring-bracelets over each wrist, miraculously not falling down from her hands, no matter how much she moved them. The cylinders, the bracelets and the belt all had different runes and markings etched upon them, although they were barely visible on the thin bracelets. Amber coloured tattoos and signs were drawn on her wrists, her bare shoulders, her back and her outer tights. She also wore amber coloured high-heeled sandals with roman style straps going criss-cross up to her knees.

Despite himself, even Leonard had to admit he was sometimes mesmerized by the beauty and power emanating from this woman. She was a master illusionist, capable of even creating solid illusions at times. He wasn't sure of her other abilities, since she wasn't of the sharing around the camp-fire type, but he at least knew she had some ability with runes, since she had helped with the preparations of the ritual. Besides, only an idiot would think the runes over the bronze jewellery she wore were purely for decoration. And she was after all the one responsible for the large-scale illusion that hid their base of operations so well. Without her, their whole quest wouldn't have gone so unnoticed.

Nevertheless, Leonard was worried. He needed someone with mastery over illusions and those mages were quite rare. He had heard of her being a powerful mage, constantly working and training herself into the ground, plunging into countless hours of research, all for obtaining recognition from her peers, not only as a female mage, but as an illusionist as well. So he thought maybe offering her power would make her join his cause. She had listened to him intently, the night he sought her at a bar after she had completed some assignment. She had remained silent for a while afterwards and Leonard was getting worried he had made a mistake and would have to kill her, causing unwanted attention towards him. Not to mention, powerful as he was, even he wasn't sure he would be able to defeat her in his current body. But to his relief she had agreed.

That still didn't mean he wasn't worried or suspicious. Morgana had stated that she was working towards the highest form of illusion magic – turning an illusion into reality permanently, without the need of constant magical power for sustenance. Something didn't seem quite right to Leonard though. He wasn't a practitioner of the art himself, but he knew such a feat shouldn't be about power alone. It was about changing the mechanics of the world and for that, knowledge and technique were needed much more than vast quantities of raw magical energy, something she had quite a lot of anyway.

But he needed her. Not to mention he really didn't know anything about illusions, so he didn't let his paranoia rule him too much. And he wasn't that worried, since he would properly dispose of her anyway. He would properly dispose of them all after tonight.

Leonard decided to let his presence be known, as he removed his hood and cleared his throat audibly. That got the rest of the group's attention, since he already had Morgana's.

"Finally!" Cornelius was the first to speak or rather shout. "We've been waiting for you for a while now! What took you?"

The dark sorcerer spared a glance at him. "There were some complications with the final lacryma crystal. It was better guarded than I initially expected."

Cornelius grunted. "Fine. Let's get started, I want to get over with this so we can all be on our way doing our thing."

Leonard barely nodded as he moved towards a heap of lacryma crystals. Taking out a pouch from underneath his robe, he took out a blue orb the size of a bowling ball. It could be clearly seen it was charged quite densely with magic. The energies pulsated and flickered in it, as the red-haired mage put it carefully next to other such crystals.

There weren't that many such densely powered lacryma around Fiore, although they weren't rare. The scale of the magical energies they packed still warranted some sort of protection. Especially since his group started to move recently to rapidly collect one hundred and twenty of them, which was still a fifth of their total number. They went unnoticed at first since they tried using Cornelius' wealth to buy some, but not all of them could be bought, so they had to resolve to theft.. At some point some people started piecing the clues together and realized the crystals were specifically targeted. So they had started increasing the guards and the protection.

It wasn't that Leonard was unprepared for the increased protection. What caught him by surprise was this time there were mages there as well. Furthermore it had taken him more time than he had desired to break into the reinforced safe that held the lacryma. It was a good thing this was the last one they needed though. No doubt there would be even more attention at the thefts now that they had turned into murders.

As he looked up, he saw the others were starting to make final preparations for the ritual. They inspected the large pentagram circle the whole thing would take place in and were moving the lacryma crystals at their supposed locations.

Not wasting anytime he joined them in checking over the runes painted over the round rock as well as the ground, forming into what he considered a work of art in itself. Truly, Leonard was quite proud of his creation.

At the edge of the rock you could see black runes inscribed over it forming a circle themselves. From them, five lines stretched on the ground, reaching five more circles. These were much smaller than the centre one as the purpose behind them was for a person to stand in it, channel magical energies and manipulate the ritual, hence they were called medium circles. All five were connected by lines of runes, forming a giant pentagram. On those lines, there were three more smaller circles between the larger ones, where eight lacryma orbs were placed in each, in the form of an octagon, with rune lines connecting each of the crystals. Their raw magical energy would provide the power needed for the ritual and it was why they were called the storage circles. There were also two more runed lines outstretched from each of the medium circles, joining them in what looked like a star. The centre of the star, which formed a pentagram of its own, encased the circular rock in the middle perfectly. Between the five rays of the drawn star, there were large markings, each having its own purpose. Finally, the whole giant pentagram was encased in a rune circle itself, completing the whole thing. The only place that didn't have any additional markings and runes and seemed rather empty in contrast was the centre circle. Also known as the summoning circle.

For this was the purpose of their two long years of preparations. For gathering all the money, all the lacryma, all the souls and all the hard preparations. The ritual pentagram itself had taken him, Babajide and Morgana three months to paint and calibrate. It would all help them summon a powerful demon from another plane. A demon they would subdue, purify its raw power and divide it amongst them. Or that's what the others believed.

Leonard almost chuckled wickedly, as he remembered what he set the circle to actually do. Instead of dividing the power in five, he would absorb it all! And then he would dispose of his tools.

"Is everything ready?" Leonard's fantasies of murder were put to a halt by Morgana's serious voice. She rarely spoke at their gatherings, which meant this time she was quite eager herself.

"Ready? Nooo, not at all. There is still something you and Baba need to do, yeees." Sleek said with his distinct annoying way of elongating 'yes' and 'no'. At his statement Morgana rolled her eyes, but it was Babajide who spoke.

"What you be talking, mon? All the circles be painted and all the crystals be gathered. We be ready for ritual, mon." Leonard blinked as he deciphered what the bald muscled man had just said.

"Not quite!" Cornelius decided to join in the conversation. "You and Morgana need to put on the cloaks and cover yourselves. Not that I mind Morgana's clothing or lack of it any bit. You could always lose it all if it was up to me." At his last comment he turned a lecherous smile at the sorceress wagging his brows suggestively.

The only female of the group threw a piercing glare at him. "Watch it, pig! Or I might cause another 'accident' with your potions to increase that vile stench of yours. Maybe this time I would do the world a favour by getting rid of you."

"But Cornelius is right, yeees. We cannot begin the ritual, without you putting on your cloaks, nooo."

"And why I be needing a cloak, mon?"

"For protection of course, yeees. You wouldn't want the demon to know who you are and seek you out if we fail, nooo. His buddies might see you as well, yeees."

Babajide snorted. "Mask is all I need, mon!" he spoke as he picked a tribal wooden mask, hanging from his pelt and put it on his face. It had several paintings in red, white and yellow as well as a couple of leaves and feathers extending from the top and the sides.

"I think not, nooo. You should cover your whole bodies or the demon would know, yeees. Especially you, slut." The last comment was of course directed at Morgana, who sent the coldest glare she could manage his way, most likely capable of freezing the sun itself. Which was a wasted effort since the corpse loving bastard probably had ice flowing already in that pale-skinned body of his. As she opened her mouth to no doubt send a couple of threats his way with the promise of fulfilling them once their mutual association had finished, Leonard decided it was time to put an end to this.

"Enough." he said quietly, with menace. Or that was what he intended at least. Leonard almost swore and cursed his body's only flaw in his view. No matter how quiet he tried to be, his booming voice had a different opinion on the matter. What infuriated him more was that there was nothing he could do about it. Possessing someone didn't magically change his vocal chords as well. At most, there could be traces of his former voice in his puppet's, but nothing more. "Seize this foolishness at once, we don't have time for it. Morgana, Babajide, put the damn cloaks so we can start!"

The others looked at him doing nothing to hide their smirks. Leonard cursed yet again. Of course, such high-classed speech didn't have the desired menacing effect with this booming voice and at most managed to accomplish a comedic reaction.

Nevertheless, the scarcely-clad mages done over their cloaks and hoods and all of them proceeded to take their respective places. Leonard was of course at the top of the star, with his medium circle being the only one that had a wooden podium. He picked the book from his belt and unwrapped it from the leather casing. After all, his actual magical power was in the book and not in this body. He placed it on the podium, opening it at the desired page, before looking at the now orange coloured sky as he noted the sun had began to set. He looked over his temporary companions.

"Let us begin."

**!~¡**

Naruto was walking along a path, overlooking the bank of a small lake. The sun was setting, colouring the sky in a beautiful orange. Soon the day would end, signifying another lonely birthday. His eyes went to the left and he marvelled at how beautiful the lake looked now. It was reflecting the setting sun and it had taken the colour of the sky. Naruto smiled – a lake of orange underneath a sky of orange. Since it was his favourite colour, he thought maybe it was a gift of nature for him on this day. At least he got one.

As he continued walking, a small wooden pier came into view. On it sat a boy he immediately recognized. Sasuke Uchiha. He wore a black shirt with the Uchiha clan logo on the back, which was a red and white fan, black shorts and black sandals. He had raven hair and black eyes, giving the impression he had no pupils. He was sitting on the edge, looking absentmindedly at the far distance. Naruto's expression softened at that.

Of course he knew of him. He was an orphan like him. He wasn't always an orphan though. Back when they joined the academy, Naruto didn't have much interactions with him, but he was different from now. He used to be more cheery and smiled from time to time. Now he had cold eyes, filled with solitude and hatred. Kind of like his own.

That change in behaviour happened a month or so ago, when his clan was massacred. He had lost everyone close to him, including his parents. Naruto never had any, so he didn't know what it was to lose. But he knew that now Sasuke was like him. Alone. And even though it was cruel, it made Naruto happy, because now, there was someone who could relate to his pain and maybe share a bond with. If he stopped being stubborn and actually went and talked to the boy.

Naruto was suddenly startled from his daze, when the raven haired boy noticed his presence and turned his head his way. Too surprised for a proper reaction, Naruto unconsciously frowned, prompting a glare from Sasuke. The boys stared at each other for a bit, before both turning their heads away with a huff.

Naruto continued on his way towards his apartment, with a huge smile on his face. They would always fight and act like they hated each other, but for Naruto, Sasuke was his first friend, his first connection. He didn't need to turn away, to know the raven haired boy was also smiling.

And he was right. After Naruto had moved on, Sasuke sneaked a small peek at the blond and noticed his smile. Which immediately prompted one of his own. Naruto may be an idiot, but he wasn't so bad, Sasuke mused. Even though they both shared the same pain, now that he was alone, Sasuke could tell the other boy had it much worse. Naruto had never felt the warmth of a family, the embrace of a mother and the pride of a father, even though Sasuke himself had only recently gotten the last one, right before his father was murdered. Maybe.. Maybe he could swallow his pride for a bit and act nicer to the blond. Maybe if they became friends, neither would be alone an..

A loud scream of pain resonated through the air. Sasuke snapped from his thoughts and immediately jumped to his feet. He turned around, but couldn't see Naruto anymore. He rushed upwards towards the path, searching for the blond and froze still at the sight that greeted him.

**!~¡**

The floor and the walls of the chamber around the cage shook. Small bits started falling off the ceiling. The Nine Tailed Demon Fox opened his eyes as he was woken up from his slumber. He slowly lifted his head, followed by his whole body. He stood on guard as a somewhat familiar feeling set upon him. He felt a distant pulling, as if someone was trying to yank him.. As if someone tried to summon him!

At this sudden realization, the Fox tensed even more as his tails began to swish behind him.

"Who is doing this?" The Nine-tails rumbled. "Madara? No.. That other one?"

But it was neither of them. And inside this accursed prison, no one should be able to summon him anyway, the only good point of it. Then what the hell was going on? What was this strange power? Without any warning, the fox was pulled abruptly, letting out a roar of anger and pain as he was slammed against the barred gate of his prison. He felt his power being syphoned away and could feel the pain increasing as the pulling intensified.

The Nine Tailed Demon Fox didn't know what was happening. But he did know one thing. Whoever was responsible for this would suffer!

**!~¡**

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves was sitting in a chair, inside a small apartment. His ANBU guards had surrounded the place in a protective perimeter, but no one was actually present inside. So the old Kage**[2]** sat alone, in silence, while smoking his pipe and reading a small orange book.

He was in this apartment waiting for a particular someone. A special little boy, who turned seven today. He hadn't seen him in a while and was actually looking forward to this day to have an excuse and come over to visit him. He had also prepared a small gift for the child.

He always enjoyed his meetings with the boy. Naruto reminded him so much of his successor, that it was like looking at a young Minato. And he would always smile, no matter how down he was feeling. Of course, the old man knew that was just a mask. Nevertheless, one of the boy's smiles was able to brighten up the old man's day, no matter how hard it was.

He chuckled a bit as he looked at the present he had gotten him. This year, he had bought him a sleeping cap, that looked like the head of a hippo. He remembered how happy the boy was last year when he gave him that frog wallet, the blond so affectionately called 'Gama-chan'**[3]**.

A familiar feeling swept over Hiruzen as he felt his spine shiver. "No.. This couldn't be." He muttered as he looked out of the window. All of a sudden a vile, yet familiar demonic chakra filled the air as it swept the village.

In a blink of an eye, all of his ANBU guards were present and around him. The Hokage himself had already stood up and was hastily making his way towards the door. He couldn't shake the feeling, he might not see the blond boy ever again.

"Naruto.."

**!~¡**

Sasuke's jaw clenched in fear as cold sweat started pouring over his body at what was unfolding in front of him. There, bent over and holding his bleeding stomach was Naruto, screaming in pain. Vile red, bubbling chakra had started surrounding him, until it formed into what looked like a cloak, with the addition of two fox-like ears coming from his head and a tail swishing behind him. The blond's screams intensified as he suddenly arched his back, shooting up his head, as he was lifted a bit from the ground. Sasuke could see his T-shirt soaked in blood, but what shocked him even more was what looked like the head of a fox forming over where his stomach was, as if it was being pulled.

At this sight, a sudden realization formed in Sasuke's mind. Someone was hurting Naruto! Someone was trying to kill his friend! The red chakra surrounding the blond had frozen Sasuke on his feet in fear, but the raven haired Uchiha still opened his mouth in an attempt to scream for help. But before a sound could menage to come out of his trembling lips, the area around the blond started to get distorted. Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise at what he was seeing. Small red cracks started to form around Naruto, as if there was glass there being shattered. In a flash of bright orange light, the blond was no more. All that was left were the slowly vanishing cracks.

Sasuke fell on his knees as he suddenly started taking huge breaths. His eyes were fixed in the area where Naruto had stood, but the boy was nowhere to be seen. In the blink of an eye, Naruto Uzumaki had disappeared from this world.

**!~¡**

Sweat was pouring over Leonard's forehead. This wasn't part of the plans! He had never anticipated it would take so much magical power to perform the summoning. Something wasn't right. He looked over at the storage seals and saw that there were only five circles still filled with larcyma. And one of them was actually halved. The dark sorcerer bit back a curse. They should have gathered more of those orbs, consequences be damned. It didn't matter anymore though. All he could do now was concentrate on the summoning and hope for its success.

No sooner had he thought that when he noticed the distortion at the summoning circle, with red cracks appearing around it. In a flash of orange light, what looked like a red fox appeared. Leonard let a small smile at that. With the appearance of the demon he could feel the power it carried in the air as well as the wickedness and malice oozing from it. His smile faltered though, when he took a moment to examine more thoroughly what they had summoned.

"What's going on?" Morgana's voice came from his left. "That looks like a small boy!"

"That is not an ordinary boy, nooo. It appears the demon is sealed inside him, yeees."

"Great, what are we going to do now?" Cornelius shouted from one of the farther medium circles.

Leonard took a deep breath. "We carry on with the ritual. We will just extract the demon from the boy, then divide and absorb its power." The necromancer immediately focused at his words, but Leonard could still feel the others' reluctance. "This is no time to hesitate! We are already halfway through the ritual, there's nothing else that can be done!" he screamed as he started focusing himself.

Slowly the two other men focused their power as well. Leonard didn't even turn his head at Morgana. They didn't need her to finish anymore anyway. Four of them would be enough. He would deal with her later.

As they focused their power they could see the blond child being lifted above the ground, with vile red energy coming out of his stomach. As the energy increased and gathered in the air, it slowly started taking the shape of a wild beast. When the boy's screams of anguish finally ceased and his bloody and burned body fell to the ground, Leonard's eyes widened at what was standing before them.

A large red-orange fox, with nine swishing tails looked around each of them with bloodthirsty eyes, that promised nothing short of pain and massacre. It lifted its head and let out an inhuman roar of fury. That's when the dark sorcerer realized something had gone wrong. The demon was not contained anymore and he had no control over it. He looked at the storage circles and his eyes widened in shock. They were all empty. The extraction must have taken all of the lacryma's magical power away. It didn't matter, they just had to subdue it now and then take its power.

The Nine Tailed Demon Fox looked around the new area he was at. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the wonderful air he so missed. Freedom at last! He had no idea where he was, but judging by what looked like a summoning pentagram he ventured a guess that it was thanks to the five hooded individuals he was here. A wicked smile grew upon his face. It was time to thank them properly. After all, he hadn't gone on a killing spree in a long time.

Leonard felt a chill run down his spine or rather, the spine of his possessed body, when he saw the menacing eyes of the demon fix on him. The grin the fox had already made him uncomfortable, but now with that gaze directed at him, the dark sorcerer quickly made a few hand-signs. As he finished, the book in front of him began emanating dark power.

"**Chains of Hell's Gates.**" he muttered and five black chains shot from the ground and enveloped the giant fox's legs and neck. Of course, these weren't ordinary chains. As the name suggested, they were actually heated with fires from hell. Leonard wasn't done with just that though. He put one hand on the book, drawing more of his power from it and lifted his other hand, quickly making some more hand-signs.

"**Dark embrace!**" A black wave shot from his outstretched arm, wrapping around the fox's body. With an additional hand-sign, he pulled the energy as it began to tighten more and more.

The Nine-tails was furious. Just as he was about to smash the insignificant human before him, he was captured with burning chains that actually hurt. As if they weren't bad enough, he was also wrapped with some black energy that slowly began crushing his chest. The Fox would have none of that. Letting out a huge roar, he released some of his power from his body, instantly shattering the bonds and dispersing the black energy. Before the figure responsible for them could react, he was captured in Kyuubi's**[4] **paw. The demon then proceeded in crushing its body, enjoying every moment of the screams of pain, the cracking of the bones and the blood that spilled like he was crushing a ripe tomato. Quite satisfied with his kill, he directed his attention to the other cloaked figures.

Who weren't just standing doing nothing though. As she saw Blaire's demise, Morgana shivered a bit and let one of her bracelets fall into her palm. Turning around rapidly, she hurled it towards the fox's neck, making a few signs with her free hand. The bracelet's runes began to glow as it enlarged considerably. The Kyuubi, seeing the possible danger, moved his arm to stop it but to his surprise, the piece of jewellery passed through it. It continued on, passing through his neck as well, until it was around it like a collar. Clenching her hand into a fist, Morgana moved it down, making the bracelet extremely heavy. Her actions brought the Fox's head into the ground, creating a small crater from the weight. That should hold the demon long enough for her to recover the boy. She didn't get the chance though, as her companions began making their respective attacks.

Sleek was touching the ground with his hands, dark energy oozing from them. It was a good thing this was an ancient keep, no doubt having been a place of numerous battles which would supply the bodies he needed perfectly. "**Army of the Undead!**" he exclaimed in a resonating hollow voice, making a hundred skeletons holding various weapons rise from the ground. As he issued a silent command, they began hacking and slashing at the demon's legs and tails.

Babajide had taken the opportunity to prepare one of his more powerful spells during the spare time. He held one of his amulets up and channelled a large quantity of his magical power through it. "**Locust Swarm!**" Immediately, countless locusts started pouring out from the now enlarged amulet. The giant wave of insects enveloped the fox as they started biting furiously.

Not to be left behind, Cornelius threw six bottles containing liquid at the ground. "**Nitro Wolves!**" he chanted, making the liquid from the now shattered containers take the shape of six wolves as they all charged towards the fox, climbing over its back and exploding when they reached the base of six of its tails.

Under the relentless attacks, Kyuubi let out another roar of fury and pain. He would make them suffer for this! Channelling some of his vile chakra, he made it encase his body. Immediately, all the wounds he had accumulated healed as if they never existed. The poisonous chakra took care of the pesky locusts, before they had the time to pull away.

Now to teach those fools a lesson. He would first take care of the one responsible for the annoying collar. The Fox shot one of his tails towards Morgana and wrapped it around her body, before the woman had the time to react. He proceeded to lift her in the air at enormous speed and slam her into the ground. He then threw her body into one of the nearby buildings, making the wall she hit collapse from the force of impact. Feeling the bracelet immediately lighten and fall through his neck, the Nine-tails lifted his head and raised the whole building on top of the female mage, making sure it would be her grave forever.

Whipping his tails, the Demon started disposing quickly of the skeletal army, while turning towards the figure responsible for the insects. That fleshling's bugs had not only bit and tore at his flesh, but the Fox had suspicion they were filled with deadly poison as well. Of course, that didn't make that big of a difference, since his own chakra was considered one of the deadliest poisons in existence. It was time to give the human a taste of his own medicine. The Nine-tails grabbed Babajide with his arm, but instead of crushing his body like with his first victim, he let his demonic chakra burn the man's skin, enjoying every bit of the wails of anguish. As they began to lessen, the Demon merely tossed the body into the raging waves of the ocean.

While he was busy with that, he had taken care of the undead army as well. His attention turned once more to the shattered bones on the ground though, as they began trembling. In a moment's notice, they were lifted in the air, forming a large amount of bone spears and shot with incredible speed towards the Fox. Kyuubi did nothing to stop them, as most just bounced off his chakra cloak and those that didn't were insignificant. So that one liked playing with bones, did he? Good, so did the Nine-tails. Bringing his fist over the necromancer, he began pounding him into the ground, creating a small crater in the process. After the forth or fifth hit, the Fox lifted the shattered body like a doll and proceeded in tearing off an arm and a leg from it, before hurling it with great force towards the mainland.

Enjoying himself to the fullest, the Fox let out a small chuckle as he turned to the last one. The Demon noticed that while he was taking care of his companion, the plump, cloaked figure had started running away. Perfect, he enjoyed a good chase. Without much effort, Kyuubi reached the running Cornelius and grabbed him with one of his tails. He held the trembling man up to his face, before giving him a toothy smile. The Fox particularly enjoyed the taste of fear in his victims. Throwing the fat man into the air, he snapped his jaws around him. In retrospect, the Nine-tails realized that hadn't been a good idea. After a chew or two, he felt an extremely foul taste in his mouth and quickly spat the body into a nearby building. Disappointed at being denied his meal after so long, the Fox collapsed it in a fit of rage.

Now that he was finished with his little fun, the Nine-tails decided to survey the area. He was on some sort of rocky headland, surrounded by the ocean on three sides. There was only one building still standing and it appeared to be the ruins of some kind of fort. His gaze was then directed down towards the summoning pentagram and even the Fox had to admit it looked quite impressive. Had it not caused him so much pain, he would have studied it more deeply.

The Fox's eyes fell on the body of his previous jailer. He lifted an eyebrow as he saw the boy's chest moving slightly, signifying Naruto was still alive. If only barely. The extraction had probably destroyed all of the child's chakra network, as well as caused what looked like various burns and a very bad wound on his stomach, from where the seal was broken. Maybe it would be best for the blond if he just granted him a quick death. The child had suffered enough in his life already.

Nine-tails' gaze lingered over Naruto's body for a bit before stretching his paw slowly towards him. Before it could reach the blond though, a violent roar pierced through the havens. Kyuubi looked up only to see a tail, hitting him square in the face and throwing him into the last standing building of the ruins – the keep itself.

With a roar of his own, the Fox stood up only for his eyes to widen in surprise at a creature he had never seen before. It stretched its giant wings and swung them violently, creating a huge whirlwind, which blowed away the Kyuubi before he could even react, sending the Demon hundreds of meters away into the ocean, along with what was left of the castle.

The winged beast grumbled at the incomprehensible yelling, no doubt promises of torture and murder, coming from the flying fox. That didn't worry it that much. All of the demon lot were the same loudmouths, most likely trying to compensate for something they lacked. The newly arrived creature set its gaze upon the bleeding figure of Naruto Uzumaki.

**!~¡**

Warm. Naruto felt warm. He opened his eyes and closed them immediately at the sudden brightness. And then opened them again, much slower this time. He took in the surroundings and discovered that everything around him was white, without any noticeable features. He stood up a bit on his elbows and turned his head around. There really wasn't anything here.

"Where am I?" Then the memories hit him. The burning pain, the pulling, the cloaked figures and then more pain. He had never felt so much in his life before and remembered he was begging for it to stop or for him to die. In comparison, warm was a vast improvement, even though he wasn't sure of his current whereabouts. "Am I dead?"

"No. We are in your mind." At the sudden feminine voice Naruto jumped to his feet and turned towards whence it came from, faster than one would expect from a seven year old boy. His eyes widened in surprise and his jaw fell slightly at what he saw.

A couple of meters in front of him, two people were standing. He wasn't sure how he didn't see them before when he looked around, but he immediately recognized one of them. He was a tall white-skinned man, with blond spiky hair and blue eyes, much like his own. He had jaw-length bangs, which fell over a blue Leaf forehead protector, framing the sides of his face. He wore a standard Leaf-nin uniform, which consisted of a dark blue long-sleeved shirt with two bands on each arm and dark blue pants. His ankles and calves were bandaged, catching up the bottom of his leggings and he wore black sandals. Over his shirt he had a green flak-jacket and a short-sleeved, long, white coat, with flame-like motives on the edges. Before him stood his idol and hero, the Forth Hokage.

He didn't recognize the person next to him though. It was a fair-skinned woman, with bright red hair that reached all the way to her ankles. Strands were falling on each side of her face and a yellow clip prevented her hair from falling over her violet-blue eyes. She wore a high-collared, sleeveless, loose-fitting dress with a beige apron over, which framed her slender, feminine figure. Naruto noticed she was holding hands with the Forth, while they were making their way towards him.

"Who are you?" At his question the two adults stopped a couple of steps away and the blond man was the first to answer.

"My name is Minato Namikaze." he said, giving him a huge grin. Before Naruto was able to tell him he already knew that and wasn't asking him really, the woman spoke.

"Mine is Kushina Uzumaki" she gave him a small smile of her own. Naruto's eyes shot at her face when he heard her last name. Could she be..?

Seeing that, Kushina's smile grew wider as she continued "We are your parents, Naruto."

**!~¡**

*****To be read 'cat'.

**[1]**Hokage – literary means 'Fire Shadow' (jap.).

**[2]**Kage – means 'Shadow' (jap.).

**[3]**Gama–chan – literary means toad-chan (jap.); -chan is a suffix of endearment.

**[4]**Kyuubi – literary means 'Nine-tails' (jap.).

**!~¡**

Some **Author's Ramblings: **Originally, my scene breaks were just bolded ~ This is one of my favourite characters, I love it and use it almost all the time! But for some reason, FF doesn't allow it as a lone, centered or bolded character.. After I got pass the 'WTF' moment, I settled on **!~¡ **for scene breaks.. The candidates were **!~**,** !~! **and **!~¡ **

Another thing - I'm not really sure about the rating.. The battle looked a bit graphic and gruesome to me, so I decided to put M to be on the safe side.. Does anyone care actually, this kind of looks like one of those "Are you sure you're 18?" thing when you just need to press 'yes'. ^^'

Anyway, this is it for Chapter 1 of **'Fairy Tail's Orange Flash'**! I hope you enjoyed it and are looking forward to the next one as much as I am! ^^ See you again in a day or two and please review !~

**!~¡**


	2. Chapter 2 The Cait and its family

**!~¡**

Hello, Dear Readers!

Wow.. I'd like to thank all of you for reading this story. I never expected there would be so many, only after the first two days. Thanks for the wonderful reviews (10 for the first chapter!) and for being added to so many favourites and alerts lists. And of course, not to forget the three C2s as well. I appreciate every single one of you and am humbled by your support.

But I won't take any more of your time with my ramblings, which are at the end anyway. So without further adieu, here is the second chapter of **"Fairy Tail's Orange Flash" !~**

**!~¡**

Chapter 2: The Cait and its family

**!~¡**

The recently arrived creature approached the boy, lowering its head to inspect him better. Its eyes narrowed when it saw the state of his body. The child's life was fading rapidly, it realized. It stretched its claws towards the blond, with pale energy surrounding them, but stopped when it sensed a huge gathering of vile power coming from the ocean.

Turning its head, the winged beast quickly made its way to the edge of the cliff, where the ruins of the keep had previously stood. In the distance, it saw the giant demon fox sitting on its back legs on the surface of the ocean. Its head was looking upwards with all its nine tails outstretched over its nose with the tips pointing at what looked like a black orb of energy, three times the size of its head.

The winged creature narrowed its eyes as the orb seemed to slowly get smaller, but the power it could feel from it only increasing. "What is he up to?" it briefly wondered until it saw the fox open its mouth to swallow the orb, as realization struck. If that were to hit, it would wipe out the whole headland!

The creature grumbled as it took in a huge breath, gathering magical energy in its chest. There was no time for this, it was a miracle the boy was still breathing and would fade any second if he wasn't tended to. Its thoughts turned from the blond child and focused on the task at hand. It had to use just the right amount of power or risk the shock-wave finishing the job the vile demon had started. Just enough to create a diversion to escape with the child.

It finished gathering its power just as the fox swallowed the black orb. Both beasts looked at each other for a brief moment before releasing their respective attacks. The two energies shot in monumental speeds from their mouths and met in the middle where they both started struggling for dominance. Neither able to come on top, brief deafening silence fell, followed by a bright flash of light and an enormous explosion, making a huge hole in the ocean.

The winged beast didn't waste any time to marvel at the awe-inspiring sight though. It quickly turned and grabbed the blond boy in its mouth, channelling magical energies to rapidly begin the healing. The giant creature then turned into a small ball of light as it disappeared in a burst of speed into the night.

**!~¡**

This hadn't been a good day for her. In fact this was probably the worst day she had ever experienced. Since the moment of her death and the sealing of the Nine Tailed Demon Fox in her son, things had been going from bad to worse. The mistreatment of her boy in the orphanage. The refusal of everyone to adopt him and give him a loving home and a family. The abandonment of his godfather and those she and his father considered friends and family. The blind hatred of the villagers. In retrospect, she considered those good days.

For the bad ones were hell for her. She couldn't be with her son when he was scared and alone in the empty apartment. She couldn't put him to sleep, when he was having a nightmare. She couldn't soothe him when he was crying. She couldn't hug him when he wondered who his parents were and why weren't they with him. She couldn't kiss him on his birthday and spend it with him. All she could do was watch her son suffer undeservedly.

For part of Kushina Uzumaki's being was sealed in her son, since the day he was born. It was done right before her death, so when the time came and he was to face the Nine Tailed Demon Fox in order to subdue it, she would be there to assist him in any way possible. Yet, Kushina didn't know if it was fortunate or unfortunate to see her son grow. She was happy at first, but no parent should ever witness their child suffer, without being able to do anything about it.

Not once did she stop regretting her decision to agree with Minato. She was going to die anyway, he should have sealed the demon in her! The village, the people and the world be damned! At least then, Naruto would have his father. At least then, he would have been loved and appreciated. At least then, no one would tell him, it would be better for the world that he was dead!

But today, her regret had reached its highest peak. First she had to witness yet another lonely birthday. As the years passed those would get increasingly hard on her and she could feel her heart shattering in pieces during each one. And then, the unthinkable had happened. Her son was summoned to what looked like another world, because of what he held. She had watched through tears and horror, she had listened to his screams and begged whatever God was listening for this to only be a nightmare, an illusion.

It wasn't. She knew it the moment Minato had appeared in front of her, tears falling from his eyes. That meant the seal was broken. Her first reaction was to slap him without holding back anything. And to slap him again. And again. Until her slaps turned into punches and he decided to hold her in his embrace. That's when she gave in, when her tears kept flowing uncontrollably and her sobs had turned into wails. Kushina cried seven years worth of tears and she didn't need to see Minato's face to know he was doing the same. They had failed as parents and they had failed Naruto.

After a while, Kushina had calmed down and she heard her husband say "Kushi-chan, it's time to meet him." Horror fell to her face at his words. Of course she was happy she could finally see him face to face and tell him she loved him. But what would he think when they told him the whole story? That they were responsible for his years of solitude and pain. He would reject them no doubt. And he would have any right too. There was no forgiveness for people like them.

"Kushi-chan.." Minato began, but she didn't let him finish.

"I know. We owe him at least an explanation. After so many years, I won't abandon him now." She moved out of his arms and looked into his blue eyes, giving him a weak smile. "Let's go meet our son, Mini-kun**[1]**."

Minato returned her smile, grabbing her hand and squeezing it tight. "Let's go."

And here they were now. In front of their seven year old son, right after they had told him they were his parents.

**!~¡**

The Nine-tailed Demon Fox climbed on the headland and immediately surveyed the area. He was alone. There was nothing but the ruins of the two buildings he had destroyed and the now empty summoning pentagram. That winged creature had apparently left with his former container. Two things would probably happen to the boy. He would either die or the strange beast would save him. Either way, the Kyuubi didn't care much. In the first case, the boy would most likely finally find peace in the Afterlife. In the second, he would have another shot at life, without any burdens or unwarranted hatred from humans. Of course, he hated his former captor, but even though he was a demon, he couldn't help but feel some sympathy for the boy and the life he had. If the Fox was still in its own world the first thing he would do would be to go and burn the Hidden Leaf Village to the ground. Those bastards definitely deserved it and he would do the world a favour by massacring them all.

That was the problem though. The Nine-tails had a suspicion he wasn't in his world anymore. He had travelled all around it and he had never heard of the strange speech these humans spoke and he had definitely never witnessed a creature like that before.

With his thoughts on them, Kyuubi couldn't help but let out another tirade of curses against them. He was weakened from the ritual and those pathetic humans had actually managed to hurt him and make him use some of his power. He also had the suspicion that he would never recover part of his chakra, maybe even as much as half of it. He sensed it being syphoned away when their strange ritual had begun and now he wasn't sure where it was. One thing was for certain though – the Fox couldn't feel it anymore. Which was a serious issue.

Had the fight continued with that winged beast, the Nine-tails wasn't sure he would have won. In fact there was a huge possibility of just the opposite happening. Even though he hadn't used all his power in that final attack, the creature had matched it flawlessly. Kyuubi snorted.

"If that thing wasn't in a hurry to save the boy, I would have been in trouble." Guess he should be grateful to the child for that at least. If they met again, he might even let him live because of it. He had to recover for now though. He was actually at one quarter of his original power. He had lost a quarter, because of this ritual, but the other half..

"Minato." spat the Fox. Indeed the boy's father was responsible for that. He had divided the yin and yang portions of the Nine-tails' chakra and had sealed only the yang part in Naruto. The other one, the Forth Hokage had taken in his death. But now, something was off about that. The Demon sat a bit and concentrated, nearly shouting after a while. He could feel some of his yin chakra coming back! The seal Minato had placed on himself must have been somehow linked with the one placed on Naruto. And now with that one broken and the Fox out in the open, the other one must have been broken as well! Kyuubi suspected that wasn't all there was to it. Most likely the ritual itself had something to do with that as well.

Nevertheless, soon the Nine-tails would be restored to its former glory! Almost at least, since now he realized the portion he lost during that ritual would never return to him. It was regrettable, but it wouldn't be too bad, now that he had his yin chakra back. Who knows, maybe in a couple of years, he would be as strong as he once was, despite the loss.

For now, he needed to rest and restore himself. Most importantly, he needed information about this strange world. The techniques those humans and the creature had used were definitely not chakra techniques. And the Kyuubi could feel it in the air, something was different about this place.

He surveyed the area again for anything that could be helpful. His eyes narrowed a bit when he looked at the building he had thrown the second cloaked individual in, a woman if he had to make a guess. Something was off about that place. As he made a step towards it, an object caught his eye. Beside a fumbled podium laid an open book. The Fox sniffed the area around it and grinned wickedly. Oh, this was a smell he thought he would never come across again. A power so familiar to his own, they were almost the same. He picked the book in his paw and brought it closer to his face.

"Hello.. Leonard."

**!~¡**

"_We are your parents, Naruto."_

The words still rang in his ears and echoed through his blank mind. Huh..? Ugh..? Wha..? Seeing how the mind would remain blank for a while, Naruto's body decided to take initiative for now. He could think all about it later. That's how Naruto found himself running towards his mother. She immediately knelt down, allowing him to jump with full force into her embrace. He buried his face into her chest and wrapped his small arms around her. Unable to contain himself anymore, he began to sob and shake in his mother's arms. He had parents! He wasn't alone!

Kushina sat on her knees and placed her son on her lap, as she lightly began rocking his body. She hummed a soothing song to try and calm her sobbing child. She saw Minato kneeling in front of them and placing his arm in Naruto's hair. Kushina smiled at the thought: their small family was finally together again, after seven long, painful years.

After a while, Naruto stopped crying and trembling. He probably would have cried to sleep from all the mental and emotional exhaustion, but since this was his mind, he technically already was sleeping or rather unconscious. He turned a bit and looked at his parents and was almost brought to tears again when he saw the love and adoration present in their eyes. He had never seen such eyes in his life, he was used to cold glares or eyes filled with hatred.

He just looked at them for a while, still hugging his mother tightly, as if afraid if he were to let go she would disappear and he would be left alone again. Slowly, more and more questions started pouring into his mind. The Forth was his father? Why has no one told him so far? Why was he hated then? Why hasn't anyone told him who his mother was? Finding himself more and more confused, he decided it was time to ask them.

"Mom, Dad.. What is going on? What happened to me?"

Taking a deep breath, it was his father that answered: "Well, Naruto.. It is a long story. You better brace yourself." Nodding slightly, the blond boy turned a bit towards his father, still never letting go of his mother.

"It all started seven years ago, on this very date, the 10th of October. As you know, that was the day the Nine-tailed Demon Fox attacked the village without warning. The same day you were born as well." Naruto just nodded again, showing he was listening intently. "What most people were told was that the fox is a natural occurring disaster, that just happened to hit our village. That is a lie to keep the civilians at ease."

"There are actually Nine tailed beasts in existence. They are usually masses of chakra and hatred that would destroy everything they came across with. But at some point during the past, people saw them as weapons. So to better control them and use their powers for war, the Tailed beasts were sealed into humans and those humans would be known as Jinchūriki**[2]**. The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju was famous for being able to control Tailed beasts and had a couple of them under him, including the Nine-tailed Demon Fox, which was considered one of the more powerful, if not the most, of all the beasts. To keep it in the possession of the village even after his death, the Kyuubi was sealed in his wife, Mito Uzumaki."

Shock was clearly visible on Naruto's face. Before he could express it though, this time it was his mother that spoke.

"You see, the Uzumaki clan was famous for two things. Our sealing techniques and our longevity. The Uzumaki clan is not native to the Hidden Leaf Village, its origins.. Our origins actually lie in the Village Hidden in the Whirling Tides. But the two villages were close allies and the Senju clan and the Uzumaki clan are actually distant relatives, so political marriages to strengthen the alliance weren't uncommon."

"Since Mito Uzumaki was going to live a long life and was the wife of Hashirama Senju, she was naturally chosen as the first Jinchūriki of the Nine-tailed Demon Fox. But as she grew old in years, at one point it was decided that a new host would be chosen. That host was me. I had a special type of chakra, that could help with the control of the beast and because of that, I was moved to the Hidden Leaf at a young age and would join its ranks as a ninja. It was actually surprisingly fortunate, because shortly after I moved away, the Village Hidden in the Whirling Tides was attacked and completely destroyed and the Uzumaki clan was wiped out, with only me and Mito as the sole known survivors."

Naruto had remained silent the whole time, unconsciously holding his breath during the story. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. It almost felt like a fairy tale. He didn't dare interrupt though, he realized the story was actually just beginning.

Kushina smiled at the thirst evident in Naruto's eyes. He was certainly enjoying the history lesson. Her smile fell a bit though at the part that was coming up. She briefly looked at Minato, who just gave her a nod. Kushina understood that she should continue and he would join in from time to time.

"Which brings us to the 10th of October, the day you were supposed to be born. The happiest day of my life, because I would be able to hold my beautiful little son." Kushina chuckled when she saw Naruto's face becoming red in embarrassment at her words, but carried on. "You see, Naru-kun, there was one problem though. There is one point in a female Jinchūriki's life when the seal containing the demon would weaken. That's when she would give birth. Because of that, I was to be escorted to a secure location outside the village into a special barrier, in case the seal broke and the Nine-tails escaped. That way, the village would be out of harm's way."

Naruto looked down at her words and swallowed slightly. "Is that what happened, Mom? Did the seal break because of me?"

"Of course not, Naruto." His father spoke, as he ruffled his hair. "I was actually a very good seal master and I was present during your birth so I could specifically hold the seal in place. You were born without any hitch. I actually remember, the Third's wife was the one that delivered you and she scolded me for worrying to much." Minato explained with a small chuckle, making Kushina and Naruto smile as well.

"What happened was something no one could have predicted.. Well, I suppose since we are in your mind, we should just show you our memories." Naruto nodded, as he began to watch the events that were to unfold, as if he himself was there. In a way, he actually was.

The blond boy watched in horror as a masked man showed up and killed the Third's wife and had taken his infant self hostage. His eyes widened as he saw how his father saved him from the exploding tag and took him to a special hide-out. The scene then switched to his mother's memories and he shuddered as he saw her bound to a cliff and witnessed the fox being pulled away from her body.

Seeing the familiar scene he immediately understood what had actually happened to him a while ago. He had the Fox sealed in him and someone had extracted it the same way as with his mother. He had many questions about that, but decided not to interrupt. He opted to just squeeze his Mom tighter, offering some sort of comfort to her. He had experienced the same pain after all.

He almost gave a small cheer when he saw his father showing up and saving his Mom from the Fox's claws. Minato then brought her to the same hideout he was at and had set her on the bed next to his infant self. Seeing his Mom crying just made Naruto squeeze her one more time.

The scene then switched to the village where the Fox had started rampaging. He watched in awe how his father diverted what looked like a giant orb of black chakra from the village. After that, Naruto witnessed quite possibly the coolest thing he had ever seen in his life. His father, the Forth Hokage, battling and winning against the masked figure responsible for everything. Not only was Minato able to defeat him, but he also wrestled control of the Fox from him. Naruto looked at his Dad with even more respect and adoration than ever before. But the small celebration was cut short, when he saw what came next.

His father teleported the Nine-tails to the hide-out and after a brief discussion with his mother had proceeded in sealing half of the Fox in himself and the other half in Naruto. He almost jumped when he saw how Kyuubi tried to prevent the sealing by killing his infant self, only for both his parents ending being impaled by a huge claw, in order to protect him.

The memories had ended at that point and Naruto had remained silent, looking down at his hands. He wasn't sure what to make of all of this. On one hand, he was happy at the enormous trust his parents had placed in him. They believed that the masked man would bring destruction to the world and to prevent that they had entrusted Nine-tails' power to him, in order to one day defeat him. On the other, they had cursed him into a life of loneliness and pain. The villagers' eyes and voices passed through his mind.

"_There he is."_

"_That's the fox brat."_

"_Stay away from him, he is evil."_

"_His parents left him alone. Who would want a demon for a child."_

"_Just ignore him."_

The empty apartment. The solitary birthdays. After each thought his face only frowned more and more with anger. Then he saw something fall from above him, onto his clenched fists. Something warm and wet. Looking up, he was a bit surprised to see tears falling from his mother's face.

"I'm sorry, Naruto!" The woman cried, as she held him against her. "I should have pulled the Fox with me and died! You should have never carried such a burden! I've seen every day of your life since then and if I knew it would have turned out like that, I would have never agreed! I have failed you as your mother and I don't deserve forgiveness for what I did. But know that not a moment has passed since, that I haven't regretted my decision and if there was any way, I would change it in a heartbeat!"

"That's not true, Kushi-chan. It's my fault things turned out like that. Back then, I thought Hiruzen would have protected him better or Jiraya would have actually taken care of him as his godfather. I believed in the village. It's not an excuse though. In the end, I was the one that convinced you. It is my fault entirely that things turned like they did, so you shouldn't blame your mother, Naruto. If you want to hate anyone, hate me."

Naruto was taken aback by what his parents were saying. He was even more shocked when he saw their eyes. They were filled with genuine regret for everything that had happened. They didn't even want any forgiveness. Now that he thought about it, he supposed they had their reasons at the time. Everything seemed all too complicated for him. He wasn't sure what he would have done in the same situation.

But he realized, he shouldn't be mad about it now. It was all in the past and it wouldn't change anything. He should just enjoy the moments with his parents from now on. He lifted one of his arms and placed it on his mother's cheek. Startled, she looked down at him, tears still flowing from her violet eyes.

"It's all right, Mom. I don't know yet how I feel about the whole thing, but it's all in the past now. We should just enjoy our time together." With that Naruto gave his mother a huge smile.

This time, it was Kushina and Minato's turn to be shocked. They had expected him to be angry and to curse them. They had expected him to say he never wanted to see them again. But they certainly had not expected their seven year old son, acting in such a mature way. He had admitted he didn't know what to make of it all, but at the same time, that it wasn't that important. That it was in the past.

"Well, he certainly is our son." Minato chuckled.

"Are you surprised, Mini-kun? He looks exactly like you."

"Not entirely. He has your face, Kushi-chan."

Hearing this, Kushina gave an embarrassed smile to Naruto. "Yeah, that's right. Sorry about that, son."

"Why, Mom? You look really pretty! That means when I grow up, I would look really handsome. I wish I had your beautiful red hair though. I think I would have looked way better with it."

Hearing that, Minato looked dejectedly at the ground, mumbling. "Thanks a lot, son. What am I..?" He continued grumbling to himself, much to the amusement of the other two.

"Hehe. You are right, Mini-kun he really is your son." Seeing her child's confused expression at stating the obvious, Kushina gave him a smile. "Naruto, you are only the second man to ever compliment me on my hair. The only other one being your father."

At that Naruto outright laughed. "Hey, Mom, Dad! I'm really curious, how did the two of you meet and fall in love?"

**!~¡**

The silence of the night had fallen over the headland. Even the ocean had calmed down and its waves now slowly caressed the cliffs. Only the noise of crickets could be heard in the gentle wind. It was a clear night, with millions of small lights painting the sky. The whole scene looked serene and calm, as if a monumental battle had not been fought at all here.

More than half an hour had passed since the Demon Fox had left. Now the whole headland was void of life. Or so it seemed. The air near one of the two collapsed buildings flickered and distorted. Slowly, the small spot changed, only to reveal a very battered Morgana. There was barely anything left of her bronze belt or the cylinders in her hair, as they were slowly crumbling to the ground. Her dress was torn in many places, barely holding together from exposing her completely. Her body was bruised and cut in many places as well and there was an alarming red spot, which was slowly growing on her now naked stomach, signifying the possibility of internal bleeding and ruptured organs.

After the illusion had fallen, Morgana fell to her knees and began gasping heavily, as if each breath of air was going to be her last. Her body began trembling uncontrollably as cold sweat started covering it. The sorceress lifted her gaze slightly to check on the area and make sure she was completely alone. She didn't even want to imagine what would happen to her if that Demon were to return.

It had killed everyone. Sure, there were no bodies, but she didn't need to see any, no one should have survived what it did to them. She got lucky, she realized. The sudden attack of the Fox had caught her by surprise. If it wasn't for the runes on her belt and cylinders, her body would have been completely crushed. And even though she was enveloped in the protective shield, she still got severely hurt.

It didn't matter if anyone else had survived anyway. They had failed. Now because of them, there was a powerful demon unleashed on the world. True, they were exhausted when it attacked them, if it wasn't so, then maybe they wouldn't have been defeated so easily. Then again, Morgana had the suspicion the Fox wasn't at full power either. She shivered, just thinking what facing something like that would have felt like. Her heart had almost stopped when the Fox looked at her, despite her illusion. Her fears of the Demon seeing through it only intensified, when it had made a step towards her. Luck was on her side again though, since its attention had turned towards something else.

In truth, they had entered dangerous waters and had paid the price for it. Their temporary leader had faced immediate and gruesome death because of that. Or his body did at least. For a while Morgana, had the suspicion, Blaire was in fact possessed. Seeing the Nine-tails pick the book he was always carrying around only confirmed her suspicions. She didn't understand a word of what the Demon was saying in some strange language, but she did make out one word. A name actually – Leonard.

Morgana cursed at how careless she had been. If she knew such a powerful demon and dark sorcerer was the one behind this whole venture, she would have definitely done things differently. Of course she and Babajide had discovered the changes he had made to the runes in the pentagram. After discussing it, they had decided to make changes of their own. Instead of him absorbing the whole power by himself, it would have been divided in four and spread amongst the rest of the group. She didn't like them much, but Morgana was true to her word and she honoured agreements, no matter with whom they were.

Babajide had agreed with her surprisingly. The witch doctor was actually the only one she got along with from their group. His reason for being there wasn't entirely selfish too. Even though vengeance isn't a noble reason to pursue power, after what had happened to him, Morgana couldn't really blame him. She supposed it fell on her now to complete his goal. The group that had done it were an atrocious Dark Guild anyway. Of course she had to report to her guild master first.

The Sorceress cursed, just thinking about it. This was a huge failure indeed. After she had accepted Blaire's or rather Leonard's proposal an year and a half ago, she had informed her guild master and they had proceeded in telling the Council of mages. They weren't happy with the whole thing, but she had convinced them. There was a possibility that the cult was much bigger than Leonard had let to believe or that there was some mastermind behind it all. There could have been even more cults.

Of course, she continued when she learned there was nothing of the sorts. Morgana still had suspicions that someone was controlling Blaire and had remained. She believed after the ritual was done, the one responsible would reveal himself and she would have used her newly acquired power to capture him and bring him before the council. Sure, she didn't really care for the power, but it was a nice bonus, one that the sorceress would have used to her advantage. She had almost given up on the idea, when she learned some of the lacryma crystals were infused with souls of people. But they were already dead and there was nothing that could really be done about them. Morgana had just vowed she would bring the ones responsible to justice. She was arrogant, believing she could have dealt with everything on her own.

Of course, she had failed. Because of her over-confidence and stupidity, she never considered the possibility the Demon would be too strong or the summoning would exhaust their magic reserves so much. Not only that, but an innocent child had been involved in the whole mess as well! Tears came to her eyes when she remembered his wails of anguish. They started falling, when she remembered how the Fox was probably going to kill him and how she could have done nothing about it.

It was a relief when the other beast had arrived. If her suspicions about it were correct, then the boy would most likely survive. Morgana vowed on the spot, if she were to ever meet the blond child again, she would make it up to him. Even if he wanted to kill her, she would let him without any condition. It was in his rights after what she had done and it would be the payment for her sins.

The pain in her stomach had started being more noticeable and Morgana realized it was time to do something about it. Slowly lifting herself to her feet, she leaned on what was left of the wall. She started channelling a healing spell and let out a scream when her organs began repairing themselves. She didn't know that much healing magic, considering it was long-lost ancient magic and what she knew was definitely insufficient to take care of the pain of the process. Her injury was grave and she had noticed the red spot was now enlarged and dark blue on places. It was still a blessing she at least knew this spell, after she learnt it from the inscriptions on a wall, in some old ruins she had explored during one of her journeys. It was a good thing ancient runes and rune magic in general was a hobby of hers or she wouldn't have understood anything.

The sorceress almost passed out from the pain, but did her best not to scream too much. It was a hard task, but she didn't want the Fox to hear her and return to finish the job. Besides, this was probably nothing compared to what that child had experienced. After she was done, she immediately felt better. Her organs were repaired, the pain was fading and the internal bleeding had disappeared completely, now revealing her royal-purple guild mark on her exposed stomach. It looked like a sitting fairy, with two wings and a tail outstretched behind it.

Taking a deep breath, the female mage straightened up. It was time she told Makarov the bad news and face the music. She had no illusions there wouldn't be a lecture or some sort of punishment, after the colossal screw up that was tonight. First she needed to find some clothes though, it wouldn't be a good idea for a woman to wonder alone naked in the wilderness. On second thought, knowing the pervert Makarov was, maybe she should just remain like that. That would certainly lessen her punishment.

With a small smile creeping on her face, Morgana le Fay**[3]** began the long trek towards her home.

**!~¡**

Naruto couldn't believe all this was happening. Not for the first time he wondered if he was dreaming and praying for it to never end if that were the case. Sure, he had been shocked and angry at first, but that was completely replaced by the joy he was feeling now. Naruto was spending time with his parents, something he had wished for for years. This was definitely his best birthday ever.

He had found it quite funny at first when his mother admitted she thought Minato was a weak girlie boy, the first time she met him at the Ninja Academy. It was ironic how he would later not only save her from a kidnapping, but also make her love her red hair, even though she was made fun of, because of it. They had all laughed when Naruto had told them his favourite colour was orange, probably because of their respective nicknames: the Yellow Flash and the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero. Naruto had realized he didn't get only his mother's face as he had the same hot-headed, loud, hyper-active personality as hers.

They had continued sharing stories with him later on and even showing him some memories, of their younger years, some of their dates (even though they would take turns at being embarrassed at various moments) and the many missions they would do. Naruto couldn't stop himself from laughing when he learned of his godfather Jiraya and how he would always get pounded by his mother after she caught him peeping on women or doing other perverted things. As far as the boy was concerned the old pervert deserved it, for not visiting him even once during all those years.

As time passed on though, there was a question in the back of Naruto's mind that kept nudging him. He got increasingly worried because of it, but chose not to voice it, else it could end the wonderful time he was having. Unfortunately the rising discomfort he was feeling didn't go unnoticed by his mother.

"Naru-kun, what's wrong?"

The blond youngster was still sitting in his mother's lap at the moment and when she asked him he slowly turned his eyes away from her face and looked down at his hands.

"Nothing, Mom, I'm just happy to be with both of you right now. Don't worry." he muttered, trying to convince Kushina.

"Come on, son, you don't need to hide your feelings anymore. We've waited seven long and painful years to finally be together like this. You can tell us anything." his mother gave him a tight squeeze as she tried to reassure him.

Seeing there was no escaping it, Naruto sighed. "I'm just.. I'm just a bit scared, Mom. When I asked if I was dead, you said I wasn't and that we were just in my mind. So I was wondering what happens now, am I going to go to the Afterlife with you?" The boy turned his hopeful eyes towards Kushina, but they immediately fell when he noticed her sad smile.

Seeing it was time to continue with the explanations, Minato placed a hand in his son's hair. "You see, Naruto, it might seem unbelievable, but your mother and I think that you have been summoned to another world, because of what you were holding. Even though you were in pain at the time and couldn't take notice of your surroundings, we were still able to see that you were transported from the Leaf village to some strange-looking pentagram. There were five cloaked individuals, that looked like they were performing some sort of ritual, in order to bring the Fox to them and extract it from you."

"Now, as we've told you earlier, if the beast is extracted or released from a Jinchūriki, then the holder would die. Kushi-chan was able to remain alive for a while, because of her special chakra and the Uzumaki clan's vitality. The latter is the reason you are still alive actually, even though your chakra system has been completely destroyed. But because of that, the possibility of you actually surviving disappeared completely, since chakra is essential to all living creatures."

Naruto was quite confused, as well as terrified at the same time after hearing this. "Then how come I'm not dead yet and am not with you in the Afterlife?"

"We are not sure exactly." Minato answered. "You see, when the Fox was extracted and you fell into unconsciousness, we stopped monitoring what happened in the outside world and came here to talk with you. Truth be told, I expected we would have moved on by now. But while we were talking something strange happened. Your body started to heal at rapid rates. That wouldn't help that much, since as I've said, you actually had no chakra or chakra network left at all. But it seems that some strange power has replaced it, filling your body with vitality at the same time."

"In truth, our chakra, the one we have sealed in you so we could meet again, should have been diminished by now and we should have disappeared. It looks like because of that new power not only are you going to continue being alive, but we have gained more time, before we have to move on. Thanks to the ritual, your seal wasn't the only thing that was broken, but the one I had placed on myself as well, in order to seal the yin portion of Kyuubi's chakra. So now my soul can actually move on to the Afterlife with your mother."

Naruto smiled a bit at that, but it immediately disappeared when he realized that his parents would be leaving him alone again. Not only that, but now it looked like he was in another world, all by himself. In the Leaf village he at least had the old man Hokage. Not being able to hold himself, he hugged Kushina again as tears started falling from his eyes.

Understanding why her son had broken down, Kushina gave him a reassuring squeeze, while caressing his cheek. "Don't worry, Naru-kun. Even thought you can't come with us right now, I am actually happy that you are going to survive. There is nothing sadder for a parent than to see the death of their child. I don't think you will be alone either, because whoever did heal you and gave you this strange life force, is actually caring enough for you to go through all the trouble and most likely won't leave you on your own."

"But I don't want to leave you, Mom! Not after I finally got to meet you and Dad after so long, not after we spend such a good time together, not after I've had the best birthday I could hope for! Not after I'm finally happy.." Naruto shouted, still not letting go of Kushina. But before he could say anything else, he felt his father's hand ruffling his hair. Tearing his face from his mother, he looked at Minato's broad reassuring grin.

"Now, now, son. You still have your life ahead of you. You are only seven years old, after all. There are still so many things left for you to experience. Whatever this world is, you should give it a chance. Here you can start anew, without any of the villagers' hatred or prejudice. Here you could find friends, love and live a truly happy life. You are our son after all, we believe in you and know that you would never just give up no matter what."

Hearing his father's words and his faith in him, Naruto couldn't help returning the same large grin. "All right, Dad! Next time we meet, I promise I would have explored this world and will have even more awesome stories of my many adventures to tell you than both of you combined!"

Hearing that, Kushina hugged her son again, while giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Naru-kun, I'm so proud of you. If it's you, I'm sure you can do it. I'm only sorry I wouldn't be able to see it for myself."

"Well, even though it was more than a curse, rather than a gift, now without the Nine-tails you don't really have anything left from us. So I'm going to tell you some of my most prized techniques, the reason I became so famous and feared throughout the Elemental nations. Even though you won't have any chakra anymore and this is a different world, I think you should be able to find a way to use this new power within you. Since it's you, I'm sure you'd be able to use the concepts behind them and invent them yourself here. Listen carefully, they can be a bit complicated.."

**!~¡**

"Wow, Dad. You really are amazing! Even though you aren't really smart at making good decisions.." Naruto trailed off. He saw his father's shoulders fall a bit at his comments. Even though he had forgiven his parents, he was still slightly annoyed at his decision. So his mischievous side had decided he should tease the man a bit, making him believe he wasn't completely forgiven. Doing his best to hide his evil smile, he continued with a slightly confused expression "I think I got the spiralling one, but the others.."

"Don't worry, son. You will always remember this meeting, so whenever you feel confused, you can just come back to your mind and replay it." Minato chuckled, while ruffling his son's hair. It was unfortunate that they would have to leave shortly. He could never get enough of doing that. "I think it's time we leave you with some parting words, to give you some guidance. Even though your life-force has been restored, our energy is running short. Kushi-chan, I think the honour falls to you, since you did it last time as well and I already left him something."

Kushina looked at her son as she cupped his cheek with her hand. "Naru-kun, don't be a fussy eater. I've seen how you eat only ramen and even though ramen is great, make sure you also eat lots of fruit and vegetables and grow up to be a big boy! I've seen how you can make a mess of yourself, so keep taking baths every day. Make sure you go to bed early and have plenty of sleep and rest.. Don't overdo it though."

"Make friends! It doesn't matter how many, but make sure they are real friends that you can trust fully and love. Make sure to study and become strong, to protect those that are precious to you as well as those that need it. It's another world, but I'm sure you can do it. Always do what you think is right and follow the path you have chosen. Don't let outdated rules or prideful old geezers hold you down and prevent you from doing what is right. Don't drink alcohol until you are older and don't overdo it! Make sure not to borrow money. And as for women.. Well, I can't really help you there, since I am one. Try not to pick too weird of a girlfriend.. Someone like your mother is all right."

Kushina felt tears streaming down her eyes. Her voice became rigid and she found it a bit hard to continue. "Naru-kun! There is so much I want to say, to teach you about. I would do anything to be able to stay with you forever and make up for all the lost time.. I love you so much.."

Not being able to continue, Kushina embraced her son in a tight hug, as her body racked with sobs. She felt his small hand moving to her cheek and she opened her eyes to see a smiling Naruto.

"Don't worry, Mom! I will live my life to the fullest and make you and Dad proud! I am really happy to have parents like you and I love you both!" The blond's grin grew wider as he looked between both of his parents.

Relief washed over Minato and he let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. In truth, he had been worried the whole time his son still hated him or felt betrayed by what he did. Naruto would have the right too. But now, the Forth gave him a broad grin, ruffling the boy's hair yet again, feeling sad that this would probably be his last time. "It's time we go, Naruto. Make sure to listen to your motor-mouth mother! And remember, you are our son and we will always love you!" Minato said as he started fading away.

Kushina gave him another huge hug completed with a kiss on his cheek. "Goodbye, Naru-kun! Make sure to have a happy and full life! I am so happy for being your mother, for Minato being your father. Thank you for being our son! I love you!"

After their final words, both his parents faded away and disappeared. Even though he was left alone, Naruto couldn't help but continue smiling. He had never felt this happy in his entire life before. This truly was the best birthday he could hope and wish for.

**!~¡**

Naruto opened his eyes slowly and looked around. He saw he was in some sort of a cave, illuminated by various coloured crystals. He marvelled a bit at the beautiful sight. This was the first time he had seen so many different lights in one place. The crystals covered the ceiling and the walls and Naruto realized they reflected the light coming from the entrance of the cave. Naruto noted surprised that even though it was a closed space, the whole cave was actually full of light.

He grumbled a bit as he tried to move. His whole body ached, although it wasn't as bad as when the Fox was removed from him. He noticed he was lying on a couple of blankets and was covered by one as well. He was also surprised to see he was wearing new and clean clothes.

A movement caught the blond's attention. He turned his head towards the entrance of the cave as his eyes widened at the sight of the creature that was approaching him. He heard a feminine voice coming from it as it moved it's mouth, showing many sharp teeth.

In front of him was a beast never seen before. It was as big as the Nine-tails, but unlike the Fox it was completely white. Its legs and bottom side were scaly, while its head, neck and back were covered with white fur. Naruto noticed bewildered it had two huge white, furry wings, folded over its back and a huge scaly tail was swishing behind it with more white fur, splitting at the end. It had black eyes, which were focused on him and pointed, cat-like years.

The creature kept closing in on the blond, while still saying something incomprehensible in its feminine voice. Naruto backed off in panic until he hit the wall. His eyes still wide in shock, the boy opened his trembling mouth and screamed.

"Please don't hurt me!"

The white beast stopped at that and visibly narrowed its eyes as it turned its head away. Naruto noticed it was looking at a wooden crib. With a rumbling noise, which reminded the blond of a sigh, the creature carried on its advance towards him. Naruto opened his mouth for another scream.

"_I would appreciate it if you kept quite, child!" _Naruto's jaw snapped shut at the insistent voice. He realized it was the same feminine one that came from the beast, but he could understand it this time. What surprised him even more was the fact the creature never actually opened its mouth again.

"_Good, it seems you can understand me now. I'm glad to see you are awake and moving around. You have been asleep for two days now and I was getting worried. How are you feeling?"_

Naruto was about to respond, before he was interrupted.

"_You don't need to speak, child. Just focus your mind and think your answers."_

Naruto nodded slightly as he thought.

"_Uhm.. Like this?"_

He heard a low rumble, which reminded him of a chuckle.

"_Yes, that is quite fine, child." _The winged beast said as it moved even closer to Naruto, now standing right before him. It saw the boy stiffen at that and decided to reassure him. _"Don't be afraid, little one. If I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't have gone through the trouble of healing you."_

"_That was you?" _Naruto paused. _"Thank you! I am feeling really good, just a bit stiff, but that's all right. How are we doing this?"_

Assuming the boy referred to their current conversation, the creature responded. _"I have lived many centuries, I have travelled all over the world and I know any one of the human languages. But this is the first time I hear the one you are speaking. That is why I am speaking directly to your mind and you are doing the same. It's a special type of magic, called telepathy magic."_

Naruto slowly nodded, doing his best to understand. This was the first time he heard about something like that and to say he was amazed would be an understatement. _"Who are you?"_

"_I am the Sky Dragon, Grandine Marvell. And you should know, child, it is a sign of good manners to introduce yourself first."_

Naruto smiled, while rubbing the back of his head with his hand. _"He-he, sorry about that, I have never seen or heard of a Dragon before. My name is Naruto Uzumaki."_

"_So tell me, child, how did you end up at those ruins at the paws of that dreadful demon?"_

Naruto took a deep breath. This was going to be a long story. He remembered his life in the Leaf village, how he was ignored and hated, even by the teachers at the Ninja Academy, and how the only one who cared for him was the old man Hokage. He remembered the excruciating pain when he was summoned and when the Fox was ripped from his body. He then remembered the meeting with his parents and all the things they told him about. Slowly exhaling, he thought.

"_This is going to be a long story. Where should I begin?.."_

"_You've already told me everything, child." _The dragon spoke. Naruto's eyes widened in surprise until realization struck – apparently, he could communicate memories the same way as words. _"You've had a difficult life, little one." _Grandine lowered her head, resting it on her paws right before Naruto. _"I guess, this is a first for the both of us. I haven't seen someone from another world like you."_

Naruto gave her a wide grin. _"Hey hey! How were you able to save me? My parents told me the last thing that happened before I lost consciousness was the Fox being extracted from me. They also told me something like that should have killed me and that I was severely hurt."_

"_Indeed, you were, Naruto. It would be better if I showed you myself."_

Naruto's eyes widened as the events from the dreadful night replayed before him. He was awe-struck at the brief battle between the Nine-tails and Grandine. After that he shuddered a bit when he saw the Dragon had grabbed him in her mouth, but then realized he was actually being healed. They returned to this cave and he was amazed to see his whole body was completely healed when Grandine opened her mouth and placed him on the floor.

"_Yet, you were still fading away, even though I healed your body completely. Now I realize it was because of the destruction of your.. chakra network? In any case, it seemed like your life force itself was disappearing. So I gave you a part of my own."_

Naruto saw Grandine opening her paw, producing a small orb of light. Small for her at least, it actually engulfed his whole body.

"_After your life was out of danger, I changed your bloodied clothes and left you to sleep. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to restore your.. chakra network, so I don't think you would still be able to use your father's techniques. However, thanks to my life force, you would be able to become a mage, if you so desired."_

As all the events stopped replaying in his mind, Naruto tilted his head a bit to the left in confusion. _"A mage? What's that? What's magic anyway?"_

Grandine chuckled at his question. _"It looks like I will have a lot to teach you about this world, Naruto. I think we should start with the lan.."_

The Dragon was suddenly interrupted by a loud cry. Letting out an audible sigh, Grandine turned towards the wooden crib. Naruto was actually surprised to see her shrinking while she approached it. Curious himself, he decided to go look what was there.

Grandine stood on her two rear legs and picked up a small baby from the crib. Even though she had shrank considerably, she was still much bigger than an average human, so she most likely had difficulty holding it. Naruto could see though, she was giving it her utmost care and concentration. He noticed the Sky Dragon reach for a glass bottle, most likely filled with milk, which was on a table next to the crib. He jumped a bit, when he heard the shattering of glass.

Letting out an annoyed growl, Grandine began speaking to the child, while rocking her gently, most likely trying to calm the baby down. Naruto decided he should offer her some help, seeing how she had done so much for him already.

"_Uhm.. Grandine.. I can help you with the baby if you want? My hands are smaller and I wouldn't have as much trouble holding her and the bottle. I promise I will be very careful."_

The Dragon seemed to be giving this a thought. Letting out yet another sigh, she beckoned him.

"_All right, come here, Naruto. Be careful, hold her with both hands! If she is too heavy for you, please tell me, don't try to push yourself."_

"_Don't worry, Grandine. I've seen mothers hold their babies before in my village. I'm quite strong, I can handle it!" _The blond boasted as he took the baby in his hands. He noticed she had dark, ocean-blue hair. Feeling the new presence, the child stopped crying momentarily and opened her brown eyes, giving Naruto an intense, hunger-filled gaze.

Her curiosity seemed to be short-lived though, as a rumble escaped her tummy, making her cry again.

"_Whoa! Did that come from her? Man, she must be really hungry."_ exclaimed the bewildered blond. This was a whole new experience for him. He could feel many unfamiliar emotions pass through him, as he held the small, fragile life in his hands. Even though she was crying, he couldn't help but think how cute and precious the baby was. He wondered if that's what his mother and father had felt for the brief moments they were actually able to hold him.

Grandine couldn't keep herself from letting out a small giggle. Those two looked insanely cute together. She noticed there was a small gleam in Naruto's eyes, which made her believe that even though he had just met the baby, he would no doubt give everything he had to protect her and make her happy. It amazed her that such a bond was formed between them instantaneously. Maybe there was some higher power working here..

Now that she was able to give it her full attention she managed to pick up another bottle of milk without much trouble. She used some of her magic to warm it a bit, before she handed it to Naruto. The boy let out a small grunt, but still ever so careful, held the baby to his chest with one hand while taking the bottle with the other and started feeding her. After a bit, he felt his arms getting tired, but he resolved himself that the only way he would drop her was if his own arms were to fall off. Nothing short of that would make him let go. He looked at Grandine.

"_Who is she?"_

"_She is my daughter. Wendy Marvell."_

To say Naruto was surprised would be an understatement. He looked at the baby again. _"So Dragon's children look like human babies? That's amazing."_

Grandine couldn't keep herself from laughing. After she calmed down a bit, she turned towards the confused blond. _"I didn't give birth to her. I found her abandoned in the forest a month ago and decided to take care of her."_

Hearing that, Naruto felt sadness wash over him. He looked at Wendy again and was surprised to see her staring at him with the same intensity as before. He felt a smile make its way on his face.

"_So, she is an orphan like me.."_

Grandine let an annoyed grumble. _"What nonsense are you spouting, child!" _Feeling he had said something wrong, Naruto turned towards the Dragon, who continued. _"Both of you have a family. You have me, your mother, as well as each other."_

The blond was speechless. Just three days ago, he was completely alone. He hadn't had any idea why that was or why the village hated him. He hadn't even been looking forward to his birthday, since he would have had to spend it in a hell called solitude. But in just one moment all that had changed. He had met his real parents and even though it was for a short period of time, they had showed him they loved him deeply. Furthermore, despite him initially thinking he would be alone again in this new world, he not only had a mother, but a sister as well. Truly, the gifts for his birthday only kept getting better and better.

Unable to contain himself, tears started falling from the boy's eyes. Seeing that, Grandine let out a small chuckle, as she moved close to the two children and enveloped them lovingly with her arms and wings in a warm hug.

"_Welcome to the family, Naruto."_

**!~¡**

**[1]**-kun – suffix of endearment.

**[2]**Jinchūriki – literary means 'Power of a Human Sacrifice' (jap.).

**[3]**From the French _la_ _fée –_ Fairy (fr.).

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**Author's Ramblings:**

After I posted the first chapter, I noticed it was 9636 words long. For some reason this number excites me a lot. Maybe it's because all those numbers can be divided by 3. Or because the result is 3212. I don't know, just find it exciting and funny.. Look at it, 9636! You can play with it so much.. If you take 3 from 9 and put it on the 3, it would look like 6666. If you add all the numbers, it would make 24 which is the multiplication** of **3 **and **8**. So you can get 888 as well.. Yes, I'm an easily amused and very excitable person. d^∆^b This number is awesome though, admit it.

I read the first chapter more than twenty times to check for mistakes. It wasn't done consecutively of course, there was quite an interval between each read. And of course, the moment I read it after posting it, I discovered several mistakes and things I'd like to correct. ¬_¬ That's Murphy's law for you, I'm sure I've missed mistakes with this chapter as well. （╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

Thank you for reading Chapter 2 of **"Fairy Tail's Orange Flash"** !~ Thank you all, awesome readers, for spending time on my story, for the great reviews (10 of them!), for all the adding in Favourites, Alerts and C2s. Since I'm a very greedy person, I can only say.. Keep them coming. (≥▽≤) Final Prologue chapter will be posted in a day or two !~

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	3. Chapter 3 Stray Caits gather together

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Hello, my dear, wonderful readers!

I can't express how happy I am at your reviews and responses of my story. I am very glad you like it so much and hope that it will continue meeting your expectations. Considering the story is just starting and I haven't showed anything of what I have planned, it should go even beyond them. ^▽^ Hey, a writer can dream, can't he? n_≤

But I know you are eager to read, so I present you Chapter 3 of **'Fairy Tail's Orange Flash' ! **Be sure to check out the **Author's ramblings** at the end for some explanations and announcements. Enjoy !~

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Chapter 3: Stray Caits gather together

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Naruto woke up and slowly opened his eyes. He was greeted by the ceiling of their small one-bedroom house. He turned his head a bit to the small window and saw the sun was already high in the sky. He realized there were several things wrong with the whole situation.

First and foremost, apparently he had overslept. He had made it a habit during these past three years to wake up as early as possible for his morning routine. Of course, with a sister like Wendy, that wasn't really an issue. Thinking of her brought the second problem in view – shuffling under the blanket, Naruto felt he was alone in the bed. Since he was the one that usually woke up first, he had to move carefully, as to not wake up his little sister, so he could do his exercises and prepare breakfast. Wendy not being in the bed when he woke up was as rare as him oversleeping.

And the final problem was the bed itself. On rainy and sometimes cloudy nights, they usually slept in the small house, under a roof. Otherwise, they would sleep outside with their Mom. The cold never really was an issue, since she would just wrap them with the furry part of her tail and bring them close to her body, which was a great source of warmth. She was after all a Dragon.

That's what they had done last evening. It was an unusually cloudless October night and the clear sky was actually overwhelmed with the lights of distant stars. It had been one of their family fun events for a long time, when there was such a clear night, to gaze at the light show. Grandine would teach them the names of the various stars and would show them the different constellations. She always said one day they might get lost somewhere and they could find their way home with the help of the stars. Of course, as with many things, it had quickly turned into a game.

Wendy and Naruto had both started imagining what type of different worlds were out there, with ridiculous guesses from chocolate mountains and volcanoes that spew milk instead of lava to green skies that had flying cats soaring through them. Even Grandine couldn't withstand her children's wild imaginations and was pulled into providing her own unique insights.

Last night, they had tried guessing which light Naruto came from originally. As per usual, Wendy was the one that had started the guessing game. Ever since she was old enough to understand her brother was not from Earth Land, she had been curious and eager to visit his old world. Naruto would sometimes try to paint the peculiarities from it using the stars, like making a constellation of a kunai or a shuriken or even the Leaf logo.

Thinking about it, he never actually missed his previous home. He never even felt nostalgic. He had come to adore his new family in the past three years and after he had learnt more about the world, he realized it was as beautiful, if not more, as his old one.

The first two years had been for a lack of a better word bumpy. He didn't get that much sleep and neither did Grandine. Wendy would constantly wake up in the middle of the night either being hungry or needing to be changed. Since it was more difficult for the Dragon, Naruto had been glad to step up and always be the one to deal with her needs, with Grandine providing help of course. Because of that, he had adopted the rule to sleep whenever he could, which hadn't been that much actually, hence how he got used to waking up early.

He never complained though. Naruto loved Wendy with all his heart and would always drop anything on the spot whenever she was crying or had a problem. Her smile and incredibly cute laughter would always brighten his day, no matter how tired he was. His favourite thing to do was putting her to sleep, while their Mom was telling one of her bedtime stories about the other dragons and the magical world they lived in.

A huge smile grew on Naruto's face, as he remembered some of the big events while Wendy was growing. Her first words, her first tooth and how she would cry in her sleep sometimes, because of it, her first steps, her birthdays. Thinking about it, she had just turned three years old last month. Coincidentally or not, Grandine had found her on the 9th of September, exactly one month before Naruto's birthday. They had decided they would celebrate it on that date, since she couldn't be much older than a week, two at most than that. Each birthday, Grandine would let them ride on her back and they would go flying on a field trip of sorts, during the whole day. Needless to say, that had become Wendy's favourite thing to do and as her birthday approached, her excitement would grow and she would count the hours even.

Spending time with his little sister was probably Naruto's most favourite thing in the world, no matter if it was playing around or just sleeping. The blond still couldn't believe how fortunate he was for this new life and family. Now, he couldn't even imagine what it would be like, without them, without Wendy's adorable smile, without Grandine's warm embrace, without their complete affection.

As she was getting older, Wendy's regime had become more normal and she didn't constantly wake up during the night. Naruto had continued waking up early though, since he had gotten used to it. There was a different problem though – his sister had started growing out of her crib so instead of building a bigger one, Naruto had decided they should just sleep together. She sometimes had problems with nightmares anyway and ever since Wendy started sleeping with her brother, they had actually lessened.

At some point Naruto and Grandine had decided to build a small one-room house, where they would keep their bed and clothes. The cave was quite spacious and with the countless lacryma crystals, it never really needed any illumination. But that had started being an issue, since there was no way short of their Mom casting a spell to make the lights go off. Not to mention the floor was edgy and uneven and it wasn't that comfortable to put a cupboard or bed on it.

It didn't take them long to build it, especially since Grandine used some of her magic to gather the materials. It was constructed in a small clearing, a short distance away from the cave. Even though it was small, it was actually quite homey and they didn't really need anything fancy or big anyway, since they used it only for storage and sleep, with the latter being on occasions. They spent most of their time outside and with their mother being the Sky Dragon, wielder of the lost art of healing magic, they never got sick. The only bad side was Grandine couldn't fit in, so she either stayed right outside or slept in the cave on the rainier nights.

He was brought out of his inner thoughts at this. How did he end up in bed, if last night was a clear night and they spent it outside. And where was Wendy? Naruto got up and out of the bed, with an uneasy feeling creeping in his stomach. He would have nightmares about this sometimes. Waking up and realizing he was completely alone again, that Grandine and Wendy were gone or never existed. In truth, that was part of the reason he had opted to sleep together with his family as much as possible. Whenever he would have such a nightmare and wake up sweating, Wendy's presence would always calm him down and reassure him he wasn't alone. He had never said anything about it, but he was sure his Mom knew. Instead of talking about it, she had decided to just be there for her son.

His uneasiness was briefly brought to a halt, when he heard a thud from something falling to the ground. Looking down, he saw the only thing he had left from his old world – his wallet, Gama-chan. He had given it to Wendy, before she had even turned one year old. It was a stormy night and the roar of thunder would keep his little sister up and crying, no matter what he and Grandine tried to calm her. In a moment of desperation, he had reached for his pocket and taken out Gama-chan. The green wallet immediately caught Wendy's attention and ever since then they were inseparable. She would take it everywhere with her, even when she took baths. Seeing it only increased Naruto's fears and after picking it up quickly, he jumped out of the house and looked around the clearing.

Neither Grandine, nor Wendy were anywhere in sight. He took in the surroundings quickly and noticed there had been fire in their make-shift oven, signifying it had been used. So they had prepared breakfast, but where had they gone? The whole situation seemed very unusual. Looking around some more, he noticed his mother's prints going towards the cave. Letting out a sigh, Naruto quickly started running towards it.

As he reached the entrance, he noticed another strange thing. The cave was completely dark, the only light coming from the outside. Naruto got a bit weary, but still took a couple of uneasy steps inside the cave.

"Mom? Wendy? Are you here?"

The only thing that answered him was a barely concealed giggle and a very low hush. Taking a few more steps, until he reached the farthest illuminated by the outside light, Naruto tried again.

"Mom, Wendy, what are you doing here in the dark?"

After a brief silence, his answer came in the form of all the lacryma crystals lighting up suddenly. Letting out a gasp, Naruto quickly covered his eyes with his hands, took a step back, tripped on something and proceeded into falling on his but.

"SURPRISE!" Before Naruto could open his eyes and fully register what was going on, he was tackled on the ground and enveloped in a crushing hug. "Happy Birthday, Naru-nii-chan**[1]**!"

"Wendy.. gasp.. I can't.. bre.. ath.." Naruto did his best to inhale the precious air, but found out yet again, three year olds were surprisingly strong. Grandine's laughter came from somewhere above him, but all Naruto could see in his dazed state was a huge white spot in many other coloured spots.

"I think that's enough, Wendy. We wouldn't want this birthday to be his last now, would we?" At their mother's words, Wendy released her brother from the hug. That didn't mean she stopped her relentless onslaught though. Quickly grabbing his hand, she proceeding into dragging him somewhere, with Naruto barely having the time to catch his breath and somehow scramble to get up on his legs.

Now that the spots in his eyes had started fading away, he noticed their small dining table was in there with a large cake on it. In all the rushing, he had missed its absence from the clearing earlier. On the cake, there were ten, now lit, candles. What surprised him even more though, was that the candles were in the shape of three-pronged kunai.

"We didn't know how long the sleeping spell Mom placed on you would last, so we got really early and baked the cake. I helped a lot with it!" Wendy started explaining, oblivious of the blank, bewildered look her brother had on his face. "Mom then made the candles using her magic and we moved everything here in preparation. Then Mom used another spell to wake you up and she shut all the lighting in the cave when you started approaching. Come on, wish something and blow them out! Blow them out!" Wendy continued excitedly, while she forced Naruto into a chair and pushed the cake in front of him. "Don't forget to make a wish!"

Naruto only proceeded in staring first at his sister, than at his Mom, who had moved on the other of the table and was giving him an amused look, than over at Wendy again and finally at the cake. All higher thinking was seized in his mind and a lone thought seemed to be brought up by his short-circuited brain. Today was 10th of October, year 774. Three years since he had arrived into this world and his tenth birthday.

Naruto felt tears looming at the edges of his eyes, but quickly wiped them out and gave his family a huge, toothy grin. "Boy, you got me good! I was really surprised! Thanks, Wendy! Mom!" His little sister only returned a grin of her own and jumped on his chair, before suffocating him in another hug.

"Make a wish and blow them! Come on, I can help if you want! Ok, I'll help!" Wendy enthusiastically offered as she released her now purple-faced brother and turned towards the cake. "Tell me when you made the wish and we'll blow them together!"

Naruto and Grandine looked at each other, before laughing out loud. The blond ruffled his sister's hair and looked at the cake. "Ok, let's see, what do I want.. Well, I have everything I could ever wish for right here, right now, so um.. I don't know.."

"That's no good, Naru-nii-chan! You have to make a wish, it's your birthday. Come on, think of something, so we can blow the candles!" Naruto looked at his sister with a neutral expression and quickly started realizing that she was more excited about the candles than the wish. They would probably have to light them a couple of more times afterwards, 'just in case'. He remembered she blew hers around ten times..

"In that case, maybe you should wish for things remaining the way they are?" Grandine's voice snapped him from his inner thoughts.

"That's no good, Mom! If he tells us his wish, it won't come true!" Wendy pouted at their Mom.

"Well, since Mom was the one that said it, it means technically I never told you. Ready, Wendy, on three we blow them away!" Wendy's objections were quickly forgotten at the prospects of blowing the candles. Naruto let out a small chuckle at his sister's straightforward mind and made his wish. He then counted to three and both children blew the candles.

After the ritual repeated itself five more times, they proceeded with the presents. Wendy had made him ramen all by herself, with Grandine 'just observing and helping.. a little, not much, just a tiny bit'. Naruto remembered he was almost heartbroken when he had realized in this new world ramen probably didn't exist. He initially thought he would have to recreate it, but when he shared his troubles with his Mom she immediately told him, that it in fact did exist. Naruto would always thank the ramen Gods from then on for creating a meal so delicious it existed in all the worlds and universes!

After he demolished the contents of the bowl, his family decided to help him in taking care of the cake. They left some of it for dinner and Wendy almost shouted.

"Now it's your turn, Mom! Give Naru-nii-chan his present!" the ball of excitement that was the ocean-haired child looked at her Mom with stars shining with anticipation and hope. Grandine gave Naruto a knowing look, before winking slightly. They both knew why Wendy was so excited and thought they should tease her a bit.

"Wendy's right, son. I'm not sure what you'd like though, so we'll do whatever you wish for today."

This time the star-filled hopeful gaze was turned towards Naruto. Seeing his sister like that, Naruto almost gave in, but still managed to hold his on.. for now. "Hm.. I don't know, Mom. I am kind of tired. Maybe we should just rest today and do nothing."

Wendy immediately pouted at her brother. "Come on, Naru-nii! That's boring! Let's do something exciting, like flying, playing around, hide and seek, flying.. Anything but just sleeping!" Naruto couldn't hold his laughter this time and was soon joined by Grandine.

"You're too cute, Wendy-chan!" exclaimed the blond, hugging his sister, who was all too enthusiastic to return it as well. "All right, let's go flying!" With the decision made, the little girl let out a happy squeak and increased her hold on her brother's neck. Despite having difficulties breathing, Naruto still joined their Mom in another laugh.

Shortly afterwards, they picked what was left of the cake and taking the table and chairs as well, went to their clearing. Gama-chan had been returned to Wendy of course and now the little girl was holding it tightly, while walking next to her brother.

"All right, Naruto, you prepare some sandwiches for our little trip. Wendy, I want you to go and dress up, as well as prepare clothes for your brother and spares. It can get quite chilly high in the skies as you know and even though I can heal you, I'd rather you children don't get sick in the first place. I'll check the weather in the meantime and chose a destination."

Her children happily agreed and went on making the preparations. Grandine looked up and took off in the air. She went a couple of hundred metres up and started surveying the area and feeling the air currents. It seemed like there would be a huge storm coming from North and then proceeding East. They had went West on Wendy's birthday, so South it was then.

She was about to descend, before catching something else in air.. A strange feeling, as if it was directed towards her. She tasted the air some more and narrowed her eyes, before the feeling grew and turned into a whole message. Grandine almost lost focus and fell from the sky when she realized what it was.

For some time, she just flew on one spot, unmoving. She was double, triple and quadruple checking it, to make sure it was true. After she realized there was no doubt from who it came from and what it contained, she looked down at her children, who had already prepared for the trip and were waiting patiently for her to return. Ok, knowing their hyperactive nature, it probably wasn't that patiently..

She started descending slowly. 7th of July, year 777.. She had little over two and a half years. Two years and nine months to be precise, Grandine calculated, while she absentmindedly landed in the clearing. Maybe it was time to start teaching them magic. Wendy was old enough and Naruto looked like he had gotten used to his vast magical power.

After she had given him some of her life-force and with it some of her magical power as well three years ago, it had started growing progressively, even though he was still a child. His daily exercise routine only further helped with that and Grandine knew he would have no trouble becoming an exceptional mage. Wendy herself had shown aptitude for magic and had higher magical power than it was normal for children her age as well.

The Sky Dragon hadn't started teaching them sooner, because her daughter was too young yet and her son had problems with controlling his magic. He was a special case after all – you either were born with magical prowess or were not. The only reason he had the ability, was because of her own life-force in him. Since it wasn't natural to him, Grandine had thought him exercises to draw it out. It was a long and hard process, but finally after three years it had started bringing fruition.

Of course, that wasn't the only thing she thought him. The language was the first thing, since she didn't want them to constantly be using the telepathy spell and besides, he needed to interact properly with his sister. She had then thought him about the world they were living in, Earth Land, as well as some history, the concept of magic, geography, the mage guilds and how they operated, the kingdom of Fiore, physics and other 'boring' things in her son's words. Grandine knew how to make them interesting though, so he had at least learnt some of the basics about the world.

"Mom! Are you all right?" Naruto's voice brought her out of the daze she hadn't realized she was in. Grandine looked at her son. "We've been calling you for a while now. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, son, don't worry. I was just thinking.."

"About what?" Naruto asked as he tilted his head slightly to the right in confusion. Seeing him, Wendy immediately copied the motion.

Grandine smiled at her children's antics. "Something I think both of you will be very excited about. Now get on, I will tell you on the way."

Naruto and Wendy climbed on the Sky Dragon's back and after she made sure they were holding tight, she took off into the air and immediately headed south.

"Where are we headed, Mom?" Wendy asked, barely containing the excitement in her voice.

"I thought it would be a good idea to go South, to some warmer weather this time. There was a storm coming from the North, which was headed East anyway. Today I'll show you an island with a giant three on it. A friend of mine showed it to me once, a long time ago."

"Someday you have to teach me how to read air currents, Mom." It was Naruto that spoke this time.

Grandine smiled. "How about we start tomorrow then?"

Brief silence fell, before "WHAT?"

"Well, you've grown accustomed to magic and Wendy is old enough, so it is the right moment." Grandine chuckled before she continued "I'm going to teach you, Naruto, the battle aspects of my magic and the healing ones to Wendy. Of course, I won't forgo either of them completely and will teach you the basics in everything. This is just in case anything happens to me – then you would be able to teach each other."

Naruto's excitement was diminished a bit by that. "What do you mean, Mom? Is something wrong?" He looked at Grandine suspiciously. Wendy picked up on it and looked at her worriedly.

"Of course not, my children. I just want you to be prepared just in case, one should expect the unexpected after all. Don't worry about it, let's enjoy our flight now. If you look really hard, you'll be able to spot the giant tree in the distance."

Dismissing their mother's weird behaviour for now, both Naruto and Wendy looked at the now fast approaching island. Their eyes widened at the incredible sight that was before them.

**!~¡**

Grandine stared at the orange light, that was slowly growing, signifying the approaching dawn. She let out another drawn-out sight. This was probably her twentieth this morning. She hadn't been able to sleep at all tonight. The reason being, today was the 6th of July, year 777.

Naruto would get up soon, to start preparing breakfast and do his morning routine. He would then wake up Wendy and after they ate, Grandine would teach them magic. That would happen normally though, today was going to be a bit different. The Sky Dragon decided to let her children sleep in so she had placed a spell over them. They deserved a break after all and she wanted to make this day special.

The huge Dragon started shrinking as it went over the oven. Ramen for breakfast, only this one time. She had made sure both her children ate properly and had made a strict schedule on the consumption of the 'dish of the Gods'. She had convinced Naruto that this way, ramen would taste even better when he ate it from time to time rather then constantly. He didn't complain afterwards, especially since the other things Grandine had prepared were delicious as well.

The Sky Dragon absentmindedly recalled the past two years and nine months since she started teaching her children her magic. She had been proud by their ability and thirst to learn more. They had progressed so far, she had also started teaching them each the other part of her magic, healing in Naruto's case and battle in Wendy's. Naruto had even gone beyond that and had thought of a couple of spells of his own. And then, there was his father's techniques as well.

Grandine had to admit, Minato Namikaze had certainly been a genius. She had reached that conclusion when Naruto had explained the secrets behind the techniques. She had wondered not once, what would her son's life be like, if he wasn't robbed of his chakra and had remained in the Elemental Nations. He would have certainly become a very important and powerful individual.

The Sky Dragon had no doubt her son would do the same here though. He had showed exceptional prowess with her magic, even adapting one of his father's techniques to it. He had worked on it for quite a while, but recently Naruto had said he had almost completed it. He had even said, he would teach it to her and Wendy when he was done. Both of them were quite happy at that, even though Grandine already knew how to do it. She had tried it the moment the blond had explained how it worked, to see if it could be done, but decided to keep it a secret and not spoil his enthusiasm. Truly the destructive power behind that spell could be tremendous. That was her favourite thing about it – if used properly, it could be fatal, but it could also be non-lethal, even though it would inflict a lot of damage.

But what amazed her even more were the other techniques. She was sure, Naruto would be able to recreate them, even though it would probably take him a long time. He would be making them from scratch after all, with just knowing only the concepts behind them. Unfortunately, she couldn't help him with that. They did sound similar to rune magic though, so she suggested they should seek someone who knew more about it. Mages like that weren't rare, but true masters of the art would be a little harder to find and that's what he needed.

At this point in her thoughts, Grandine realized she had actually almost finished preparing the breakfast. The sun had already risen quite a bit and she decided it was time to wake up her children. But before she could do it, she heard noise from the small house, followed by the appearance of a very excited blond.

"I smell ramen!" Naruto shouted as he looked at the cooking pot and practically flew over it. Grandine laughed at her son's antics before catching him in her paw.

"Now, now, Naruto, be a bit patient. Wake up your sister, if she already isn't up from all the commotion, and go wash up. Breakfast will be ready by the time you're back." Before she even finished the sentence, the blonde was already in the house and a loud "Wake up, Wendy! Ramen for breakfast, whoever washes up first gets an extra serving!" was heard. Seconds later both children were scrambling to reach a nearby pond.

Grandine shook her head at the scene. Looking at the speed they were running with, she briefly wondered if they were using **Vernier** to go faster. Wendy's desire to copy her brother sometimes had brought a ramen addiction of her own, although not as severe as Naruto's. Even though at first it was just because her brother ate it, later on Wendy had actually started liking the dish quite a bit.

The Sky Dragon set the pot on the table and filled two bowls. Not long after, both her children came back and attacked their food with vigour. Grandine found the need to remind them she hadn't raised savages and they should keep some table manners. Naruto was the first one to finish his bowl.

"Seconds, please!" he happily screamed, before giving Grandine a suspicious look. "Um.. Mom, not that I'm complaining, but what's the reason behind this wonderful breakfast.. And how come we overslept?"

Grandine laughed at her son. "Well, you both have been working hard lately, so I thought a break was in order. I let you sleep late and prepared your favourite meal as a reward." Knowing her next words would only cause even more excitement, the Sky Dragon continued. "Today seems like it's going to be a good day, so I was thinking maybe we could go for a flight. What do you think?"

Her children looked at each other surprised, before they both gave her a huge grin. "Of course, Mom! Let's go right now!" Wendy let out a shout full of excitement and went to the house to prepare. Naruto was about to follow her, before an uneasy feeling settled in his stomach. He turned to Grandine and asked her a bit worried.

"Hey, Mom.. Are you sure everything's all right?"

"Of course, son. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know.. I just have an uneasy feeling. And besides, you've only taken us flying on special occasions before, no matter how much Wendy asked. I mean, I'm very happy about this, I just.." The blond trailed off, without finishing. Grandine looked at the boy surprised that he caught on her mood, but said nevertheless.

"Don't worry, Naruto. I told you, today is going to be a day off from everything and we'll spend it by having fun, as a family." She gave him a smile. "Now go get dressed or we might leave you behind if you're too slow." She teased him a bit.

Naruto didn't need anymore incentive and quickly rushed towards the house. The uneasy feeling never left him though.

**!~¡**

The sun was slowly setting down, revealing a black sky with a few stars already painted on it. In the light of the slowly disappearing orange orb, Sky Dragon Grandine flew towards her home, with her two sleepy children.

Today had been quite the exciting day for them. They had gone all over the place, making snowmen at a snowy peak followed by going to the beach in a far-away secluded spot, where Naruto and Wendy had built a masterpiece of a sand castle. They had played various games like tag and hide and seek and they had even visited the island with the giant tree. In the end, they had all been quite exhausted from their family trip and Grandine had no doubt they would probably fall asleep the moment they reached home, without even thinking about dinner.

As she approached the clearing, instead of landing, Grandine continued towards the cave. She went inside and slowly descended, while carefully moving her children from her back. Wendy had already fallen asleep in Naruto's arms and the blond himself looked like he was barely staying awake.

"Why are we here, Mom?" He asked, tilting his head slightly to the right, in his trademark confusion pose.

"Since we hadn't slept here in a while, I thought we should visit our old cave. The lacryma crystals have been getting lonely, you know." Grandine joked with her son, as she started preparing the blankets for sleep.

"Mmmm, yeah, you are right, we haven't slept here in a while. I'm so exhausted I don't think the lights would be a bother at all." Naruto mused, before letting out a yawn. He set Wendy down, before lying next to her. "You know, Mom, we should do this more often. I had a lot of fun today."

"I had a lot of fun today as well, son. And judging by how your sister never stopped smiling until she fell asleep, I think we'd be right to say she did too." Grandine smiled at her boy, while lying down next to them.

Naruto gave her an amused chuckle. "Oh yeah, definitely right.." He paused for a moment, before continuing. "You know, Mom. I'm glad I met you and Wendy-chan. I've never been happier in my life and I really love both of you."

Hearing her son, the Sky Dragon barely held a heavy sigh. Instead, she wrapped her children with her tail and brought them a bit closer to her.

"I love you too, my son. I love both of you so much.." were her last words, before everyone fell asleep.

**!~¡**

Grandine woke up and opened her eyes. She looked down at her sleeping children, before letting out a heavy sigh. It was a little after midnight.

It was time.

The Sky Dragon got up and carefully tucked her kids under another blanket. She then started walking slowly towards the entrance of the cave. She briefly stopped, looking one last time at the two sleeping children. Holding her tears, she moved out and continued making her way towards the clearing.

When she reached it, she went to the middle, near where the little house was. She sat down and looked up at the stars. The whole sky was illuminated with millions of white dots, that let their small lights fall over her. She was going to miss Naruto and Wendy so much. She could only pray they would be all right. Although, the Sky Dragon had faith in her children's abilities. Naruto would protect Wendy with all his power and Wendy would always take care of him after one of his reckless endeavours. She only hoped she would see them again someday.

Feeling the tears edging in her eyes, Grandine let out another heavy sight, before getting up. She looked once more at the sky, before stretching her wings in preparation for flying away.

"Going somewhere, Mom?" The Sky Dragon almost fell to the ground, startled and completely caught by surprise, by the sudden voice. She looked back, towards the direction of the cave, and saw Naruto holding the hand of a drowsy Wendy, that was still wiping one of her eyes with her hand.

"Why are you awake?" Grandine couldn't hold back the anxiety in her voice. This wasn't supposed to happen. Maybe she should have cast a spell on them after all..

"I felt you leave earlier and decided to follow you. You've been acting strange the whole day, Mom. Every time you looked at us, you would get a far away look and all of your smiles were kind of sad." The blond explained.

"The only time you acted this weird was on Naru-nii-chan's tenth birthday when you said you'd teach us magic. Mom, are you Ok? What's going on?" It was Wendy that asked her this time.

Grandine almost cursed. Almost. In truth, she was actually quite proud of her children for realizing something was wrong. You had to be quite observant to catch her deception. Then again, her emotions had been running rampart the whole day and she probably didn't do the best job at concealing them.

The Sky Dragon gave out another sigh. "I have to go, my children. There is something that needs to be done and because of that, I have to leave.."

Both of them tilted their heads to the right, before Naruto asked. "What do you need to do, Mom? And where are you going? When are you going to be back?"

"I.. I'm sorry, I can't tell you. I'm not allowed. And it's too soon for you to know as well." Grandine paused for a bit, feeling her heart tightening. "I don't know when I'll be back."

"Can't you take us with you, Mom? We can help you with whatever it is you're going to do." Naruto tried, hope filling his speech and eyes.

Grandine shook her head. "I'm sorry, Naruto. It's too dangerous for you yet."

"But.. But we are strong, Mom! And we'll get stronger, I promise! Please, take us with you.. Please."

The Sky Dragon closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, son."

"So.. So you're going to abandon us.." Wendy said dejectedly, with tears streaming from her eyes.

"No!" Grandine roared, suddenly opening her eyes. She went to her children and enveloped them in a hug, nuzzling them to her nose. "I'll never abandon you, my sweet, wonderful, beautiful, children! I will always be with you, in your hearts, wherever you go. I wish I could stay here with you, to continue teaching you magic, to continue telling you stories, to continue playing together.. I wish I could take you with me."

Tears started falling from the Dragon's eyes. Both Naruto and Wendy were a bit startled at that, since all their time together with their mother, they had never once seen her cry. Grandine herself couldn't remember the last time she did as well. She could handle leaving them without a word, but seeing them sad and dejected like that, with tears in their eyes only made it harder for her already breaking heart.

"I'm so sorry. Everything will be clear by the day we meet once more. Promise me you will become strong and you will take care of each other, so we can meet again one day."

After looking at his sister a bit, Naruto spoke. "All right, Mom. I promise we will get stronger and we will look for you until we find you. Nothing will stop us until the day we meet again and you explain everything to us. Then, you will let us help you with whatever you are doing." He paused for a bit and placed his hand on Wendy's shoulder, before looking Grandine straight in the eyes. "It's a promise of a lifetime."

Wendy looked at her older brother and wiped her tears away. She looked into her Mom's eyes as well. "It's a promise."

Sky Dragon Grandine saw the determination filling her children's gazes and despite the sad moment a huge smile was spread on her face. "All right, it's a promise." She held them close for a while longer, before letting them go. "It is time I go."

Both Naruto and Wendy released her as well, before taking a few steps back and giving her a small nod. Naruto took Wendy's hand and they both looked at their mother, as she went to the centre of the clearing. Grandine turned towards them one last time as she slowly started ascending in the air. But before she could say anything, Naruto held up his hand, with his palm opened in front of him.

"Mom, before you go, I want to show you something. I was going to show you during the trip, but we were having such a good time, I left it for when we would start training again. But now that.. Well, I think you might be able to use this."

Wind started gathering around him before concentrating at his outstretched palm. "The first step is rotation. The trick behind it is not only rotating in one direction, but several directions at once." Naruto started explaining, as the wind in his hand started moving and rotating all over, as it took the shape of a small orb in the middle.

"The next step is adding power, which can be done by increasing the force and speed of the wind significantly." He continued, as the orb started growing. Even though she was a bit far, Grandine could feel the strength of the wind, as well as the velocity, picking up. The final product of this phase was a larger orb, emanating waves of air from within.

"The last step is combining the two and compressing the power and speed of the wind, concentrating it on one area". As he said that, he furrowed his brows in effort. Slowly the wind waves that were coming out of the swirling sphere started getting smaller and smaller, until they were completely packed into the now perfect orb. Unlike his father's technique, which glowed and was blue, because of the chakra, this one was completely transparent and you could only see a distortion in the space above his hand, with the violent air currents rotating around one point.

Wendy's eyes widened at the sight. "You finished it, Naru-nii-chan?" Naruto just nodded, before letting the spell disperse, followed by the breath he was holding.

"I call it **Sky Dragon's Spiralling Orb**. The name is a bit different then the one my father placed on it. But I decided to change it, since the techniques aren't exactly the same either. I hope this will help you out until we meet again, Mom."

Grandine smiled at her boy, not hiding her pride and happiness in the slightest. "Thank you, son. I've always known you would be able to accomplish it. I will try it out the first chance I get." Grandine looked at the moon and sighed, before turning once again to her children.

"Goodbye, Naruto, Wendy. Until the day we meet, stay safe, become stronger and take care of each other. I love you so very much, my dear, wonderful, precious children." Those were Grandine's last words, before she turned into an orb of light and sped somewhere into the night sky.

Unable to hold herself any longer, Wendy let out a cry as she started sobbing. Naruto kneeled down and grabbed his little sister into a hug, which she immediately returned. He looked up at the star-filled sky, at the direction Grandine had disappeared to.

"Goodbye, Mom."

**!~¡**

"We are lost, aren't we?" Wendy asked with an innocent voice.

Naruto gulped. "No we are not, I know exactly where we are."

"But Naru-nii-chan, this is the third time we pass by that white and red tree over there."

"Um.. Maybe it's a very common tree for this area?" Not giving up, Naruto tried to find an explanation.

"It has the same burn mark on one side as the other two. And every other type of tree around here has a brown bark."

Naruto started sweating a bit. "He-he. Ok, so maybe we are a little lost."

Wendy let out a sigh. Today was the 8th of August and it had been a month, since they had left the clearing and their small house. They had decided in order to get strong, they should join a mage guild. They would also try to look for other Dragons, in case one of them could tell them why their Mom left.

The problem was, navigating through the forest and paths down the mountain proved to be quite the challenge. Not to mention her brother's navigational skills seemed to be.. non-existent. What was worse, Wendy's own navigational skills were probably on the same level. So they had been stuck in this forest for the past four days.

"Don't worry, Wendy-chan, I'm sure we'll find our way out. If worse comes to worse, I'll just blast the whole forest away." Naruto reassured his sister, gaining an evil smirk at the end. "How about we make a camp here and rest for now? I'll go find us something to eat."

Wendy thought about it a bit, before nodding. It was the late afternoon and they had been walking for a long while, so she was quite tired. They really should rest for now and maybe tomorrow they would have more luck.

They removed their backpacks and Naruto started setting up the tent, while Wendy was looking for dried wood. After everything was set and there was a warm fire in their small camp, Naruto looked up at Wendy.

"Ok, Wendy, I'll go catch us something. Don't worry, I won't go far. If anything happens, just call my name."

His sister nodded slightly, but asked "But Naru-nii-chan, how are you going to find your way back? You are good at getting lost."

Naruto smiled at her and took off a knife "I'll just mark some of the trees on the way. I wouldn't get lost this way, even I'm not that hopeless."

Wendy returned the smile and sat down in front of the fire. She grabbed a stick and started poking the burning twigs in it. Her thoughts inadvertently went to Grandine's departure and their current predicament. She was still quite hurt by it and couldn't help feeling abandoned. If it wasn't for her brother, she didn't know what she was going to do. Wendy knew he was feeling pain as well, but he hid it and kept smiling, just to reassure her and keep her spirits up.

The ocean-haired girl shook her head at her brother's actions. When he came back, she would hug him and thank him. But she would also tell him that she was all right as well and he didn't need to hide his true feelings in himself. If he could be strong for her, than she was going to be strong for him. And they did promise Grandine they would find her one day, so things were going to get better.

Smiling at her thoughts, Wendy looked up to see one of the bushes shuffling. Not realizing how much time had passed, she thought her brother was quite speedy at catching dinner. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her how hungry she actually was, so she decided to be grateful for his haste.

"That was fast, Naru-nii-chan. You're a pretty good hunter, what did.." Wendy trailed off, when she saw that it wasn't her brother that came out of the bushes.

**!~¡**

Naruto was walking back to their camp, while whistling a happy, carefree tune. Or at least that's what he was trying to do. Under the weight of the deer on his shoulders, it came out a bit strained and drawn-out. He could drag his catch on the floor he supposed, but he hadn't had descent exercise ever since they got lost in this damn forest, so he considered this training. It was the same reason he went after something larger this time, as opposed to the usual hares he caught the previous days - he had initially thought deer would be harder to catch. There was also the fact, Grandine had thought them they shouldn't only eat rabbit meat, since it was low on fat and some nutrients.

In truth, Naruto wasn't much of a hunter. He supposed it was a pretty hard job, that would require lots of patience, skill, and the right tools and knowledge for most people. Most people didn't know Sky Dragon magic though. Since he wasn't the patient type either, bur rather the 'jump head-on and hit them until they stop moving' type, he just used his enhanced sense of smell to locate his pray and cast **Vernier **to increase his speed. Of course, that wasn't always enough to catch hares, since they were quite speedy themselves. But he would employ different tactics each time.

One way was to try and catch them head-on, which was really hard, since they were able to make very fast turns and easily avoid things like trees, so he considered this turning practice. Since they were small creatures, there was the issue of bending down to grab them, which improved his balance as well. Another way, was a stamina battle. He would just chase the hare until it was exhausted or slowed down enough for him to just catch it. After all, not even a wild animal can keep top speed for a longer duration. Of course, he couldn't keep **Vernier** for too long periods either, so it was a race. And the final one, when he was really in a hurry, he would use another spell, he called **Air Explosion** to stun or daze the hare. It didn't have a large range, so he had to do it while running, which was quite hard sometimes, especially since he also had to dodge trees. But if it hit anywhere near the running creature, it was his victory.

Deers were a lot simpler. Well, they were quite speedy themselves, but they were also bigger than rabbits so they weren't as good at making rapid turns. And since he didn't want to keep Wendy waiting for too long, he just quickly used **Air Explosion** and disabled the animal.

Naruto finally returned at the camp, but was a surprised at what greeted him. Wendy was sitting in front of the fire, but she wasn't alone. Next to her sat a boy, most likely around his age. He had blue spiky hair and brown eyes, but what caught Naruto's attention was a reddish marking across his right eye, which started from the base of his hairline and reached his jaw.

The boy was wearing a short-sleeved jump-suit, coloured black at the top and white at the bottom, with a white collar. His sleeves had a large white hem, which was connected with the collar by a thin white line. On the sides, there were two big red lines, which started at the base of his ribs and finished at his upper-tights. He wore a brown belt with a golden buckle around his waist and the leggings of his jump-suit were tucked into a pair of brown ankle-high boots. On the ground next to him, there was a large traveller's backpack, with a rolled sleeping bag on it and a wooden staff with a bandaged circle at the top strapped to it.

Naruto tensed when he saw the blue-haired boy reach for it, but before he could drop the deer and prepare for battle, he had to try and hold his ground at Wendy's tackle.

"Naru-nii-chan! What took you? Look who I found, this is Gérard, he is lost in the woods, like us!"

Gérard decided not to correct the girl on who found who, instead he just observed their appearance. Naruto had blond spiky hair, the same length as his and bright cerulean eyes. What caught Gérard's attention was the whisker marks below his eyes, three on each cheek. He was wearing a bright orange T-shirt, with what looked like blue wing motives around the base, with two wings extending up to his chest. He had the same motives on the hem of the sleeves as well. He wore forest-green baggy pants, with two large pockets at his ankles. The base of his leggings were bandaged and went into a pair of blue sandals. Gérard noticed a hunting knife was sticking from one of the pockets, but other than that there wasn't any other weaponry on him. Which posed the question, how was he able to catch a deer without any proper equipment?

Wendy on the other hand had short, straight, ocean-blue hair and brown eyes. She wore a white buttoned shirt with a red collar and yellow sleeves. She had the same wing motives on her chest as Naruto's and also wore a pair of blue pants, giving the impression the wings were extending from them. On her feet, she wore a pair of black shoes.

Realizing this was the older brother the girl had spoken of, Gérard relaxed, stood up and approached the bickering siblings.

"Wendy, please! I'll drop the deer. Let me go so we can prepare it and you can hug me later." The little girl let go of her brother with a huff and looked away while puffing her cheeks.

"That was mean, Naru-nii."

Naruto felt bad, seeing his sister's reaction, even though she looked adorable. "Sorry, Wendy, you are right. I was just caught off guard and didn't want to drop our dinner." She immediately gave him a huge grin, which let him know he wasn't in trouble anymore.

Naruto looked on at the approaching boy and placed the deer on the ground. The newcomer extended his arm "Hi, I'm Gérard."

Naruto showed him a large grin and took his arm "Naruto! Thanks for keeping my sister company and away from trouble, while I was hunting."

Gérard couldn't help himself, but smile back at the blonde. Even though they didn't look alike at all, from their grins he could tell they were siblings. "It was no problem at all, she is a very sweet and cute girl." His words prompted a crimson blush from Wendy, who tried to hide it behind one of her brother's legs.

Said brother let out a laugh when he saw her embarrassed like that and looked again at Gérard. "Have you eaten anything? Join us for dinner, it's the least we can do as thanks."

The other boy shook his head "No, I wouldn't want to impo.." Seeing where things were going, his stomach decided to voice its opinion on the matter with an audible grumble.

Naruto couldn't help himself and laughed again at the now blushing in embarrassment boy. "I think someone disagrees with you. Come on, it's no problem at all, the more the merrier."

Finally giving in, Gérard nodded and started helping in the preparation of the deer. He gave them some herbs and vegetables he had picked while he was wondering, which would make their meal all the more delicious. After a while, they had sat around the fire and had begun eating. Feeling restless, Naruto decided to break the silence.

"So Gérard, tell us more about you. Why don't you introduce yourself?"

Gérard looked confused at the blond. "But I already did.."

Hearing that, Wendy laughed "Not like that, silly. Here, like this: My name is Wendy Marvell, I'm five years old and my birthday is on the 9th of September. My likes are my brother, my mother, ramen and Sky Dragon magic. My dislikes are dried plums and being left out.. My hobbies are learning Sky Dragon magic with my Naru-nii-chan and plants. My dream is to become a strong mage so I can one day find my Mom, the Sky Dragon Grandine."

Gérard didn't have the time to be shocked, because it was Naruto's turn to speak.

"My name is Naruto Marvell, I'm twelve years old and my birthday is on the 10th of October. My likes are the same as my sister's, except I like her instead of myself." Naruto chuckled a bit. "My dislike is waiting for the time it takes to prepare ramen. My hobbies and my dream are the same as my cute, little sister's." He patted Wendy on the head, who in turn jumped next to him and hugged him, hiding her blush in the process.

After a while, Gérard found his voice. "You two are Dragon's children?"

"Well, Grandine adopted us when we were younger, since we didn't have any parents. But she is still our mother by all, but blood." Naruto explained.

Gérard nodded. "So you two are mages. That explains how you were able to catch that deer without any hunting equipment."

Both of them just smiled and Wendy said. "Now it's your turn."

"Well, my name is Gérard. I'm twe.. Well, I guess I'm thirteen years old now." Both the Marvells tilted their heads to the right at his words. Oh yeah, they were definitely siblings. Same mannerisms and that ramen addiction? The blue haired boy continued with an amused smile. "My birthday is today, on the 8th of August."

The siblings were shocked for a moment, before Wendy screamed and tackled Gérard in a hug. "Happy Birthday, Gérard! Why didn't you say so sooner? And you were thinking of not joining us and spending it alone?" Wendy gave him a pout, which told Gérard he was somehow in trouble.

Luckily, Naruto decided to save him "You know, I'm starting to see a pattern here.. My birthday is on the 10th of October, Wendy's is on the 9th of September and Gérard's is on the 8th of August.." He said, placing his hand on his chin in a thinking manner.

Wendy replaced her pout with the same thoughtful expression. "And Mom had to leave on the 7th of July. It is weird."

Gérard was curious about the weird coincidence as well, but another question was brought to his mind. "What happened with your mother?"

The Marvells looked down at his question, with a sad glimmer in their eyes. "She had to leave for somewhere and couldn't tell us where, why or when she'd be back." Naruto then looked up with a regained grin and full of determination he said "But we promised we would become stronger and find her one day! So we are looking for a mage guild right now."

"Right!" Wendy nodded with the same determination and conviction in her voice. Gérard smiled.

"Well, I'm a wandering mage as well. How about we travel together and maybe look for a guild?"

The siblings looked at each other briefly, then back at him, with huge grins on their faces.

"Sure!"

**!~¡**

A week and a half had passed since Naruto, Wendy and Gérard had started travelling together. They had managed to navigate their way out from the forest. Well, technically, they were still in it, but they weren't lost anymore, since they had found a path. They didn't know where it led, but hopefully where there was a road, there would be a town at each end.

In the past weeks, Naruto and Wendy had become good friends with Gérard. He had told them he didn't have any parents so they could relate to him in a way. He hadn't shown them any of his magic, but they didn't ask that much, figuring it was offensive and he needed to keep himself ready if anything were to happen.

Gérard possessed some really good survival skills and had shown them how to make traps to catch animals. In the end though, Naruto still opted to use his magic, since he regarded it as training. He had a couple of hand-to-hand spars with Gérard as well and was amazed at how skilled the other boy was. Truthfully, he had needed a sparring partner for a long time now. You could only get so far by yourself and for obvious reasons he couldn't spar with Grandine or Wendy.

Naruto and Wendy were telling a story to Gérard about one of their trips on which they came upon a giant man-eating plant, that had almost devoured Wendy, when the little girl suddenly said. "Hey, Naru-nii-chan, isn't that the same three we passed by right before we met Gérard?"

Naruto and Gérard looked at where Wendy was pointing at and their eyes widened in surprise. Said tree was actually quite an interesting species, one that neither of them had ever seen before. It's bark was white with red lines of varying width and the leaves themselves were actually black. Had they not been lost before, Naruto and Wendy would have actually looked closer at it and examine it more thoroughly.

"Yeah, it does actually look like it's the same one. Strange.. It seems I was right, Wendy, it is a common tree of the area." Naruto teased his sister, who huffed and said "Let's go check it out, maybe there's something strange about it." Not wanting to let this round go to her brother, she started walking towards it, followed by an amused Naruto and a smiling Gérard.

"Hey, Naru-nii-chan, look, it has the same burn mark and it kind of looks like a fox's head."

Naruto raised a brow. "Really?"

"Hey, you're right." Gérard said as he looked at the three. "And these nine lines around its head kind of look like tails, don't you think?" At his statement, both Naruto and Wendy froze suddenly and the blond went to inspect the burn mark more thoroughly.

The first thing he noticed, it wasn't actually a burn mark, but rather an ink one. At its base, it had the face of a fox. From below it nine lines started extending around it, for on each side and one coming from behind, until they pointed at a black circle, which was positioned right above the fox's forehead.

"Nine-tails.." Naruto whispered, although it was heard by both Gérard and his sister.

**!~¡**

**[1]**-nii – comes from Onii, suffix meaning older brother.(jap.)

**!~¡**

**Author's Ramblings: **I have to say, my interactions with a five year old hyper-active bundle of energy known as my little sister has been a big inspiration for some of the scenes. If I didn't have sisters, this would have probably looked unrealistic. They will continue to be an inspiration as well, so look forward to Naruto being driven insane sometimes, the same way I am. I still love them both though and my life would be quite boring without them (I'm writing this, because they are reading).

Moving on, you might be wondering how come the chapter ended like that, when I said there would be only three chapters in the Prologue. Well, the reason is the same as the reason behind my tardy uploading (sorry about that, he-he ^^'). In truth, I've started writing this story in mid-December and had the Prologue chapters mostly written. I only did some editing and minor adjustments, before posting. And I had initially started doing the same to the third chapter before I realized "This is stupid." So I rewrote it.

Unfortunately, it ended twice as long and I didn't want to churn out such lenghtly chapters just yet. I wanted to give you guys a bit of time to catch your breath and contemplate things as well. Plus it wouldn't be like me, without an annoying cliff-hanger(this is actually the real reason). Damn, I'm such a jerk sometimes.

Now, let me again express my thanks at all you wonderful reviewers and readers that had added me to favourites, alerts, C2s and even favourite and alert author. I hadn't posted Chapter 2 for even twenty minutes and I already got my first review and in two hours I got ten! I am flattered and humbled by all of that and can't help but think, I have the most awesome readers! Because of that, for the next chapter, I will prepare a special Q&A session, to address some topics from the reviews as well as some concerns. Also, I've checked the profiles of each one of you(reviewers and people that favourited/alerted/C2ed me/my story), because I wanted to learn a bit more about my readers and I have to say, some of you have really awesome nick-names. I'm warning you, I might use them as names of characters or spells ~

Thank you all, for being so wonderful! Please continue being this awesome and review if you can! I will see you in a day for Chapter 4, the final one (no, really this time) of the Prologue, of **'Fairy Tail's Orange Flash' !~**

**!~¡  
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	4. Chapter 4 Caits versus Volpi

****!~¡****

Hello, Dear readers!

I will start as usual, by thanking all of you again, for reading, leaving reviews and adding me to lists. I am very happy with all the support and anticipation I am receiving and am glad I have such awesome readers! Special thanks to **animefangirl0219, darkangelflame, GuyYouDon'tKnow, JBigz77, Kazuma-144, tabris89, hellblack **and **Vandenbz** for adding me to their author lists. It is really flattering, especially since I've only started writing this story. Thanks to **Druss the Legend, HeWhoWatchesFromTheMist, ATNICTOWT, sambit **and **musashi-x **for the C2s.

Here is Chapter 4, finally! You might notice, this one is quite long! It's actually a special double chapter for making you all wait. ^^ I decided to rewrite the one I had, again, but this time instead of cutting it in half, I thought I should just post it the way it is.

Make sure you read the **Author's Ramblings** at the end. I have a Q&A session, with special guests too, which I am sure will answer a lot of the questions you might have. So make sure you read it all !~

Huge thanks to **Vandenbz** for proof-reading and saving me from an enormous head-ache and **X009** for his input on the battle. You should check out the latter's stories, I'm actually a beta for him. ^^

Finally, enjoy !~

**!~¡**

Chapter 4: Caits versus Volpi

**!~¡**

The silence of the forest was suddenly broken by a multitude of colourful curses, that would have no doubt brought a blush on the faces of most people, coupled with the wrath of many mothers for their exposure to the world.

They originated from a girl, no more than 15 years old, dressed in a red jump-suit, who was sitting at a small camp, near the entrance of the ruins of an ancient pyramid.

"Fuck! I hate bugs! I hate spiders! I hate all those crawling fuckers! I hate this forest and I hate this God damn job! Why the fuck were we sent, we did nothing wrong to deserve this!" The girl continued her tirade of complaints and obscenities.

"Because we are most suitable for it, considering our magical abilities. Not to mention our magic also allows us to travel at a faster pace, so we could finish the mission as soon as.." answered an amused boy, a year older at most, before he was interrupted.

"Soon? Soon! We've been here for two weeks!"

"Twelve days."

"I'm sick of eating wild animals!" the girl continued, unfazed by her companion's comments.

"There is plenty of fruit around."

"I haven't taken a proper bath in even longer, because we got lost in this damn forest in the beginning. I can smell myself, which is fucking disgusting!"

"Hey, maybe that's why you're attracting all those bugs." The boy could barely hold his laughter at this point.

If looks could kill, the glare the girl sent him would have pierced him repeatedly in many awkward and uncomfortable places for the maximum output of pain. "Fuck. You! Why aren't those damn hell-spawns making your life miserable anyway?"

"Oh, you smell way too much for them to even notice me." This time he let out a hearty laugh, before being smacked in the nose by a big rock, which caused him to fall backwards.

"I'm gonna kill you!" snarled the one that threw it, as she began choking the poor boy.

"Inchiostro!.. gasp.. Enough.. enough!.. I give, I.. sorry! .. smell.. nice.."

The girl, now known as Inchiostro snorted and let go of his neck. "Pick yourself up and let's get back to work. I swear, if I have to spend one more night with those fucking blood-suckers, I'm going to start killing shit and guess who's on top of the list." She stood up and started turning towards the entrance.

"You don't even have blood, you psychotic bitch!" protested the boy, but his response came in an 'accidental' kick in the ribs, while she was walking over him.

He lay on the ground for a while, clutching his chest, with a bit of blood trickling from his nose from the first hit. Despite his battered state, he couldn't help but smile. That girl was just too much fun sometimes. He was sure if she wasn't here, he'd have probably gone insane himself.

"Papière! If you don't bring your damn ass here right now, I'm going to make sure you won't be able to sit for a week, after the beating I'm going to deliver upon it!"

Papière found himself on his feet and rushing towards the entrance, without the need of his brain to even properly send the right command. He briefly wondered if sometimes maybe the bird-sized mosquitos weren't better.. On the other hand, he did kind of deserve it, for infuriating even more an already enraged female.

"It was still worth it." he muttered, followed by a small chuckle.

After lighting two torches, the teens disappeared in the darkness of the pyramid.

**!~¡**

Silence fell after Naruto's words. He ran his fingers over the mark and the more he looked at it the more the uneasy feeling in his gut grew. There was no doubt in his mind; the stupid Fox was behind this. He now understood something, he should have realized sooner. Seven years. Nine-tails had been in this world for almost seven years. What had it been doing? What had it been up to? Even though Naruto knew it wasn't the one responsible for the attack over the village, he also knew the Fox was still a Demon. What did it do with all its freedom?

"Look, Naru-nii, there's another tree over there as well." Naruto looked up and indeed, there was. If he strained his eyes a bit, he could spot another one in the distance as well.

"Wendy, stay here with Gérard, while I go see what this is about." Naruto said hastily, but before he could start running, he was grabbed by his sister.

"No! I won't let you go alone!"

"Wendy, let go. It might be too dangerous for you."

"That's why I won't! I'll come with you, I can help! I won't let you leave me as well!" Naruto froze at her words and looked at his sister. He noticed there were tears threatening to fall from her brown eyes, but he also noted they were filled with determination as well. Determination not to let him go alone.

He sighed, bent on one knee and quickly hugged her. "I'm sorry, Wendy. I won't leave you, I promise. We'll find Mom together, won't we?" The girl had now buried her head in Naruto's chest, but still nodded.

Gérard decided it was time he intervened. "What's going on? Who's 'Nine-tails'?"

Naruto looked up and responded. "The Nine-tailed Demon Fox. It is a very powerful demon that was sealed in a child almost thirteen years ago. And it was released almost six years ago. I've had dealings with it before and I need to find out what this is about."

Gérard nodded, although he realized the blond was not telling him the whole story. He dismissed it for now. "Let us come with you, Naruto. If something happens we can help. Three is better than one after all." The blue-haired boy tried to expostulate.

Naruto bit his upper lip for a moment, but agreed "All right, let's go. Let's keep close and try to move silently." The other two nodded and they all began following the trail of marked trees.

They started off slowly, since they didn't want to make too much noise. But they had begun picking up the pace at one point. Gérard wasn't too happy about it, but he didn't say anything. The blond had unconsciously been moving faster, a strange urgency coming off from his determined stride, which made the blue-haired boy stay quiet for now.

He also noted Wendy would look at him worriedly from time to time, but say nothing as well. There was something more personal involved and Gérard had started getting an uneasy feeling himself. The tense atmosphere had only served to increase it even more, since no one had initiated any form of conversation since they began following the trail of marked trees.

As the pace kept increasing, Gérard realized he could not let things continue like that. He moved towards the blond, placed a hand on his shoulder, halting him and was the first to break the silence.

"Naruto. Calm down." Gérard looked in the blue eyes and slightly shifted his own towards Wendy, before turning them back. The other boy looked at his little sister and realized what Gérard meant. Even though she was giving it her best not to show, the ocean-haired girl was taking big breaths, as she had begun getting tired from moving this fast.

Naruto almost hit himself. He started putting the uneasy feelings away, as he was calming down. He nodded at Gérard, before going over to Wendy and kneeling down.

"Let's take a bit of a break, shall we? Lunch time has passed, so I think we should eat." Naruto smiled and placed a hand on her head, patting her gently.

The little girl shook her head slightly. "I can still go on, Naru-nii-chan."

"Don't worry, Wendy. It's not like the trees will start walking on their own now, right? We can follow them after we eat and rest for a bit. There's plenty of time before it gets dark."

This time Wendy nodded and immediately sat on the ground. Naruto and Gérard took their big backpacks off and started taking out the left-overs from last night's dinner. The blond had caught another deer, so they had plenty of meat left. Gérard had even woken up early in the morning and had gone picking up various fruits from around the forest.

They started having lunch, but the blue-haired boy observed Naruto was getting restless again. No doubt, the worrying thoughts from before were plaguing him again. Deciding he should break yet another tense silence, Gérard asked.

"So how do you know this Demon? You said you have had dealings with it before.." Gérard trailed off, looking at the blond expectantly.

Naruto swallowed the food he had in his mouth and took a deep breath. "It attacked my village on the night I was born. Our village leader gave his life away and was able to defeat it and seal it away. But almost seven years ago, something happened and it was released." He paused for a bit and took another breath. "I had forgotten about it, until I saw that mark."

Gérard nodded. It made sense, although there was still something more. Something more personal. "From the way you're acting, I'm guessing it did something specifically to you?"

Wendy looked at her brother, with worry in her eyes, as he responded "My birth parents died on that night. I was an orphan, until Grandine took me in and gave me a family, love and a cute little sister." Naruto explained, as he put his hand on said sister's head. She immediately went to him and grabbed him in a hug.

Gérard found only more questions pop in his head. "But how was it released? And how did you find out?"

Naruto remained silent for a bit, biting his upper lip in thought, until finally "It's a long story. Let's continue and I promise, I'll tell you after we find out what's going on."

The blue-haired boy nodded and stood up. "All right." He started packing what was left of their lunch in his backpack, but before he done it on, he went over to Naruto, who was busy with his and placed a hand on his shoulder. The blond looked at him quizzically.

"Naruto, don't worry too much and try to calm down. You are not alone in this, we will support you however we can. Besides, we're friends aren't we?" In truth, Gérard himself had started enjoying the Marvells' company ever since they began travelling together. He wasn't sure how it happened, but he could be at ease around the siblings, despite the suffocating mission he had over his head. Seeing the usually smiling boy this tense and his equally cheerful sister so worried, made him want to bring their usual demeanors back.

Naruto for his part stared, a bit shocked at the other boy. He realized this was the first friend he had made. He did have some kind of connection with Sasuke in the Elemental Nations, but it was nothing like this. He visibly relaxed and gave Gérard a huge smile. "Yeah!" He hit him slightly on the shoulder, not strong enough to cause any serious damage. "Thanks, Gérard." He wasn't sure what was waiting ahead, but whatever it was, he wasn't alone – he had his sister and his friend, who would help him no matter what.

After he was also hugged and thanked by Wendy, the older boy smiled at the Marvells.

"Let's go."

**!~¡**

Inchiostro had the sneaking suspicion today was going to be fruitless as well. Which only served to infuriate her more. Twelve days. They had spent twelve days in this forsaken pyramid, looking for inscriptions, markings or anything related to some damn ritual. And that's not counting the first four days they got lost in the damn forest, just because Papière dropped the map, while they were crossing a river. To avoid getting lost again, she decided to mark the threes, so they would have a clear way back.

That was not the issue though. They were told it was going to be an easy mission. Go in, find what they needed, make a copy, get out. Nothing to it, right? No one had mentioned though that the pyramid extended underground as well and was full of so many chambers. What did those ancient people need so many rooms for in a pyramid anyway?

Of course, they had discovered there was more of it underneath after some time. The first four days were spent on the upper levels, going over them twice even, because they were unable to find anything. It was by sheer luck, they found out there was more of the ancient building underneath, when she had accidentally fallen through a hole.

After she had gotten rid of all the centipedes and spiders that crawled all over her body, while she was screaming in surprise and shock, they had continued their search. Not before Papière had made a smart-ass remark that she should have just used her magic of course. And definitely not before she hit him several times, throwing him in the nest of insects so he would 'use his magic'.

After that little 'amusement' was over, they proceeded to go down level by level. In truth, they had found many inscriptions, etchings and paintings depicting various rituals, but none of what they were looking for. At least she hoped so. If it turned out they had passed by what they were looking for by mistake, Inchiostro was certain she would raze the whole thing down, after they made the copy of course. She didn't want after all this time their mission to end as a failure.

The red-clad girl absentmindedly entered another chamber and started scanning the walls. After the third lower level, they had realized the size of the floors as well as the number of chambers had increased quite a bit. So they had decided the best course of action was to split up, to cut their time in half. And yet it had still taken them so much time, without providing any results. With their luck, the thing they were looking for would probably be in the last chamber on the last floor.. Maybe they should have started there.

Inchiostro wasn't that worried at being alone actually. She had confidence in her own strength and she knew she was a very powerful mage. With all his joking and goofy personality, the girl was also certain when it came to it, Papière was quite the fighter as well. He could probably even give her a run for her money, which wasn't that surprising. You had to be strong to join their guild after all, that much had been made clear from the beginning.

The teenage girl was actually hoping there would be ancient mummies or monsters around. She would be able to finally vent off all the pent-up frustration. So far though, nothing more than a couple of larger spiders had attacked her, which she disposed of with relative ease.

Busy with her thoughts, Inchiostro finished scanning all the walls of this chamber. She lowered the torch slightly and let out a defeated sigh. This was the last room from this corridor. In total, there were two large corridors, with four smaller ones branching from each of them. This was the third of the smaller ones, which meant she had one more left, before she would be done with her side. If Papière didn't find anything on his half, that would mean they needed to go down to the final level. Which was at least two times larger than the previous one.

The teenage girl made her way out of the room and towards the last corridor, when she heard a distant yell.

"Inchiostro!"

She immediately livened up. Since the corridors were pretty empty and they were the only ones here anyway, they had just decided they would scream if someone found anything. Papière calling her meant one of two things – he either got attacked or came upon their objective. Whichever it was didn't matter though, either would make the fifteen year old extremely happy.

With a small smile creeping on her face, Inchiostro started running towards where the scream came from. She was hoping this was not one of Papière's jokes, for his sake as well. She didn't want to explain the 'accident' that would occur if it was.

As the girl entered the chamber her companion was at, her eyes immediately widened in shock. This room was two or even three times bigger than all the other ones. At the far end there was an altar carved from stone in a peculiar shape, Inchiostro came to associate with the style the ancient people used, and in front was a wide circle. Papière was standing in the middle of it and as the girl approached him, she noticed there were numerous markings on the floor around the circle, which actually turned out to be surrounded by a pentagram. She also noticed there were a lot of markings on the wall behind the altar, with an occasional depiction of what looked like the painted floor.

"This is it." The boy smiled at her. "Finally found it."

Inchiostro looked around the whole thing again. "Whoa, this is huge. What do we copy exactly, the floor or the walls?"

"I think everything is part of the ritual. The pentagram is for the summoning and the explanations are on the walls."

"That's a lot! What did those ancient people do with something like this anyway? And what type of ancient language is that, I don't remember encountering it before.." The girl trailed of, while looking over the markings.

"Nirvat or something." The boy shrugged. "I didn't pay much attention to that part of the explanation. In any case, this shouldn't take us too much time to copy. The sooner we are done, the sooner we can be on our way so you can finally get some peace and a shower."

"Aww, I didn't know you cared so much for my well-being." The girl smiled slightly as she put her hands on the floor. Black liquid started oozing from them, before they started covering the lines and symbols of the pentagram.

"I don't. I care about myself and the best thing for me right now is to be away from you for a while. I don't want to come to the attention of one of your outbursts again."

Inchiostro glared at him "Like you didn't deserve it. The floor is ready, I'll start with the wall." She said as she stood up. When she passed by Papière, she didn't miss the opportunity to smack him lightly on the back of his head.

Not even commenting on the exchange, the boy just jumped on top of the altar and made a few hand-signs. He stretched his hands over the pentagram, before paper came from them, covering it completely. He waited for a while, until he moved his hands and lifted the large piece of paper from the ground. Now on it, there was an exact copy of the markings on the floor. He let it float and moved onto the wall.

When he was finished with it as well, he joined the two large pieces together and turned to his companion.

"Is the ink dry?"

The girl merely waved a hand at the floating paper. "It is now."

Nodding, the boy made another hand-sign, making the paper roll over and then shrink into a small scroll. He went over and grabbed it. "Sweet! Mission accomplished!"

Inchiostro just smiled "Finally. Let's get out of here, I can't wait to get a hot bath."

**!~¡**

After three hours of walking, Naruto, Wendy and Gérard finally reached the final tree. The marked path had let them to a clearing, with the ruins of a large, ancient pyramid in the centre. They could see two tents near the entrance and the remains of a small camp-fire. No one seemed to be around, so they guessed the owners of the camp were probably inside the pyramid.

Gérard looked over to Naruto "What now?

The blond thought for a bit, before answering. "Well, we can either search the camp for any clues or just wait for someone to show up and see what we are dealing with." As if he was heard, right when he finished the sentence, voices started coming from the entrance of the pyramid. The three children quickly moved back into the forest and hid in the bushes.

Two people came out of it, a boy and a girl. The boy was probably no more than a few years older than Naruto and Gérard. He was fair-skinned, with short, dark-green, spiky hair with white strands at places. His face was angular with a pointed nose and dark-green eyes. He had a silver earring in the shape of a four-pointed star hanging from his left ear. He wore a short-sleeved beige jacket over a white tank-top, framing his muscular chest and stomach. On his legs, he had short camouflage pants with two big pockets on the sides and a pair of beige boots on his feet.

Their eyes turned to the girl, who stretched and yelled "Yes! Finally I can get out of this annoying jump-suit." The moment she said that the red garment turned into some sort of black liquid and started moving all over her body.

The boy let out a laugh. "Aah yes. Even though you are psychotic at times I have to admit you have a good taste in clothes."

She turned to him with a smirk "Pervert." The liquid had stopped moving and had taken the shape of her new clothing. Both Naruto's and Gérard's eyes widened a bit.

The girl was probably around the age of her companion, had pale skin and long black hair, tied into two curly pig-tails, with the edges of the left being red and the right purple. She had red eye-shadow and her eyes were outlined with black eye-liner that extended a bit upwards from the edges. She had a small nose and her lips were painted with black lip-stick.

Her clothing consisted of a red, short tank-top, with a black scale design over her small chest and a tight red, white and black striped skirt. On her legs she had black and white socks with red ribbons at the top and a pair of black, platform high-heeled boots.

The Marvells and Gérard noticed she had four tattoos over her body. They were able to make out the first one as big wings on her back, even though they were partially covered by the tank-top. The next one was what looked like a tail, coming from under her skirt and circling down her left tight and disappearing into her sock. The third one was a barbed-wire design, going all over her right arm. They also briefly noted she had an elbow-length fingerless glove with the same black and white stripes as her socks. But the final tattoo was what caught the most of their attention – it was on her exposed stomach and it was the same mark as the one on the trees, with her belly-button being in the centre of the black circle.

The girl's companion looked her over as well. "All right, let's pack our things and get going." he said, while tossing the scroll he had in the air, before catching it back.

"Watch it! I don't want to have to come back to make another copy of that room, because you lost that thing like you lost our map."

The boy snorted, but nevertheless stopped playing with the scroll. "Are you going to turn the trees back to normal?"

The girl seemed to be thinking over it for a moment, before she responded "Naaa, they are better looking like this anyway. Besides, it would take some time to stop at each tree and I.." she trailed off before turning around quickly at the bush the Marvells and Gérard were hiding in.

"Show yourself!" At her words, her companion immediately tensed and looked at their direction as well.

Naruto cursed. He looked at Gérard, before the blue-haired boy asked.

"So what now? Should we run?"

Naruto shook his head "No, I want to know who they are, what that mark means and what they were doing here."

"I think that scroll might be the the answer to the last one." Gérard mused.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I think so too.. All right, I'll go talk with them. Wendy, I want you to remain here and stay hidden. Don't worry, we'll be all right." He patted her on the head, giving her a reassuring smile. "Gérard, can you perhaps sneak around the boy and somehow steal that scroll?"

Gérard thought it over for a bit, before "Yeah, but you have to distract them for a while."

"If you don't come out, I'll make you!" Another warning was heard from the bonny girl.

After nodding to each other one last time, Naruto stood up and went into the clearing.

"What the hell? It's just a boy." The green eyed boy relaxed, but his companion narrowed her eyes. Something was off about the blond.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, not letting her guard down.

The boy just looked at them with his cerulean eyes and answered with a question. "What is that tattoo on your stomach?"

The girl was surprised a bit, but composed herself quickly. "Well, aren't you an ill-mannered brat. Why should I answer you?"

Naruto just glared at her. "If you don't, I'll beat it out of you!" He shouted, pointing at her.

Once again the girl was surprised, but this time she let out a laugh. "Really now, shortstuff? I'd like to see you try." She gave him an evil smile.

"Don't call me short, plank-chest! The only reason you're taller is because of those weird boots."

The girl glared at him. "You little brat. Tell you what, I'm going to answer your questions if you manage to land a hit on me."

Naruto looked at her suspiciously. "Really?"

"I swear on my honour as a mage. But you should worry more about yourself, I'm going to beat that foul mouth of yours up." She looked at her companion. "Don't interfere."

Naruto didn't need anything more than that. "**Fast winds that run the heaven.. Vernier!**" he chanted, while the wind picked up around him. It then formed into two small cyclones around his ankles, looking a bit like floating bracelets.

His opponent narrowed her eyes a bit. He's a mage? Not only that, but this type of magic felt somehow familiar. She didn't have time to think about it though. The blond shot at her with an incredible speed. She was barely able to dodge his fist, which slightly brushed her cheek.

Fuck! He was too fast, she realized blocking a follow-up punch. The girl cringed a bit at the force behind it. The brat wasn't holding back either. The pale-skinned girl unleashed a kick of her own, only for Naruto to duck under it and sweep her other leg. Losing her balance, the girl fell on her back. Her eyes widened when she saw the blond coming down at her with an axe-kick. She was barely able to dodge again, rolling over to the left. The girl stood up on her hands and started turning her body violently towards Naruto, with her legs stretched in a splits.

Naruto made a back-flip and looked at his opponent, that had now gotten back on her feet as well. He now noticed her eyes were strangely coloured – they were red near the pupil, purple in the centre and turned into dark-blue at the edges. She was definitely a good fighter and had fast reflexes. Time for a change in tactics. He dashed at her, with a slightly reduced speed this time. As they continued exchanging blows and dodging he kept going slower and slower. **Vernier **was still active he was just holding it back, making her think the spell was getting weaker. And when the time came..

Naruto dodged another swiping kick backwards, before preparing to dash at her again. Having realized he had gotten slower, his opponent went for a follow-up roundhouse kick. She was completely caught off-guard, when the blond shot at her with the same speed as when they started and punched her in the cheek, sending her flying backwards a couple of meters.

Inchiostro stood up and felt something going down her chin. He wiped it out and noticed a black liquid. That boy had actually hurt her! He was going to pay. She looked at him again, preparing to unleash all hell, but noticed surprised the wind bracelets around his legs had disappeared.

"I win! Now answer my questions." The blond grinned and pointed at her.

The girl gaped at him. Was he serious? She heard laughter behind her and turned towards her companion.

"He got you good. The kid isn't bad at all."

The girl retrieved her jaw from the ground. "Fuck off!" She then turned towards the expectant blond and pursed her lips.

"Damn.. Three questions, shortstuff. After that you better make yourself scarce or I'll seriously beat you up."

"Hey! Why only three, you said you'd answer all my.."

"No, I never specified how many. I'm feeling generous so I'm giving you three. Now stop complaining or they'd get to one." She frowned at him and crossed her arms at her chest.

Naruto thought it over for a bit and nodded. "Who are you and what is that tattoo on your stomach?"

"Inchi.." the girl's companion started, but was quickly cut off.

"Shut it! I promised on my honour and besides, he's just a kid, what's he going to do about it? Sooner or later people will come to know of us anyway." She turned again towards Naruto. "My name is Inchiostro Bella-Tela. That's my partner, Papière Blanche." She pointed at the green-haired boy, who just waved with an amused smile. "And this is the mark of our guild – Nove Volpi**[1]**. Two left."

Naruto lifted his brows at that. A guild? Was that the work of the stupid Fox? What type of guild was it?

"Are you a Dark or a Light guild?" he asked his second question.

"Neither." Seeing his confused expression, Inchiostro decided to explain. Damn, why was she being so generous today? "We are an independent guild. We aren't registered with a Magical council. We don't answer to anyone or follow any rules, but at the same time we don't oppose them. Last one."

Naruto thought over her answer and finally "Who is your guild Master?"

Inchiostro paused for a bit, but answered. "The one that hands over assignments is a demon called Leonard. But the real guild master is another demon – the Nine-tailed Demon Fox."

Hearing that the boy immediately glared at her. "Where is he?"

"Uh-uh-uh." the girl responded, moving her index finger in synch. "Your three questions are up. Now scram, before I change my mind and hurt you."

"Tell me now or I'll beat it out of you!" yelled the blond, as a small gust started picking up around him. Inchiostro noticed white scales had started appearing around his cerulean eyes, which had actually become silted.

Well-well, no wonder the boy was so good. The girl was surprised, but a smile still grew on her face. "I was hoping you'd say that. Papière, whatever happens, don't you fucking interfere. He's mine."

Inchiostro gained a wild look as her smile stretched further, showing her slightly larger canines. Her clothes began dissolving into the black liquid from before and Naruto was surprised when he saw her eyes turning silted as well. Suddenly scales started forming all over her body.

The girl laughed at his shocked expression. "What? You thought you were the only Dragon Slayer?"

The blond's eyes widened. "Dragon Slayer?"

Inchiostro snorted. "What? You don't even know that? Who taught you anyway?" She shook her head briefly. "Our magic is a type of Lost magic taught by Dragons, called Dragon Interception. Because of that, we are known as Dragon Slayers."

The blond was still shocked at the explanation. Dragon Interception magic? And then he realized it. He could use Air the same way as a Sky Dragon, while at the same time his scales made him immune to all Air magic attacks. In a way, he really could oppose a Dragon.

He shook his head briefly at the thought and took his opponent's new appearance. By now her clothes had completely disappeared and her whole body was covered with scales. He was surprised to see they were coloured the same way as her pale skin, even having the same tattoos at places. The only differences were at her chest, crotch, hands and feet where the scales were coloured in black. The ones around the breasts and hips had taken the form of a bra and boxers, covering her private parts completely. He also noted the scales around her hands and feet looked denser and she actually had claws.

His amazement wouldn't stop there though. The tattoo around her left leg started moving until it became real in the form of a swishing tail behind her. The one on her right arm did the same and took the form of a barbed-wire whip. His opponent didn't seem to have any problems holding it either.

While the final transformations were completing, Naruto realized he should get serious as well. He was hoping whatever Gérard was doing wouldn't take him much longer, because things could get ugly real fast. It didn't seem like Inchiostro's partner would join in the fight, but one could never be sure.

"**Power of the stout arms that tears the heaven.. Fast winds that run the heaven.. Amzu-Vernier!**"Naruto chanted making a wild wind form around him. It took the same shape as the wind bracelets from before, but this time they were also around his wrists as well. Despite the situation, Naruto couldn't help but feel excited. A real fight with another Dragon Slayer would show him exactly how strong he was. The scales around his eyes extended a bit on his forehead and also started forming around his whisker marks. He had a smile on his face as well, that showed his sharper canines, all the more reaffirming the bestial look he had.

"**Sky Dragon's Claws.**" he muttered and the cyclones around his wrists picked up speed. They started extending down over his palm in what looked like a tornado, until his fingers were reached and five small tornado funnels were formed around them.

Inchiostro smiled as well. This was going to be fun. "Let's see how strong your roar is. **Ink Dragon's..**" she inhaled sharply, extending her chest and puffing her cheeks.

Seeing her, Naruto immediately did the same "**Sky Dragon's..**"

They both looked at each other. "**ROOOOAAAAAR!**"

A blast of magical energy was expelled from their mouths, the only difference being Naruto's was made of Air, while Inchiostro's was from Ink. The two attacks met at the centre between them and fought for dominance, black meeting white and swirling together. But no conclusion was reached and they slowly dissipated.

Inchiostro smirked a bit. The kid was good if he could match her **Roar**. Oh yeah, she was going to vent so much in this fight. She almost felt sorry for her target. Her smirk vanished though, when the blond appeared in front of her in a burst of speed, while holding a ball of rapidly turning air.

"**Sky Dragon's Spiralling Orb!**" Her eyes widened as he slammed the spell in her gut. Fuck, that was going to hurt. Inchiostro barely had enough time to transform before she was sent flying into a tree.

Naruto blinked as he felt warm liquid spray over his face. Wait, this wasn't supposed to happen! He didn't want to kill her, he hadn't used the spell at full power even. Why was there so much blood? He looked over himself in panic and noticed it was actually ink he was covered with.

"Little bastard!" He looked up to see his opponent solidifying. Apparently, she had turned to ink before he hit her, which meant she wasn't dead. The only indication she was hurt was a small trickle of ink coming from her mouth. That was good, he didn't want to kill her, at least not before she answered his questions.

Naruto was too distracted with his relief and his own thoughts to notice the Ink Dragon Slayer had slung her whip until it was too late. The only thing he could do was lift his left hand in defence and grimace at the pain from the barbed-wire impaling and wrapping around it. He was further surprised when the girl pulled him towards her with huge force. He prepared his claws to pierce her only to pass right through her and slam into the tree.

Inchiostro took the opportunity while he was dazed to use another spell. "**Ink Dragon's Chameleon Scales**" Immediately, the scales all over her body began changing colour. She let go of her whip as it started dissolving in ink and started taking the appearance of her surroundings. The last thing Naruto saw of her when he came to from his daze was a confident smirk.

The blond grunted and stood up. He felt blood coming down from his forehead, no doubt a cut from when he hit the three. "**Sky Dragon's Healing Palm**" he muttered and swiped his hand over his wound, immediately feeling better. He then looked around and tried to locate his opponent. If she was camouflaged, then he would use his nose. He closed his eyes and concentrated on all the smells around him.

Suddenly, Naruto turned to his left and pierced something with his claws. Inchiostro's scales changed colour to show her with a shocked expression. "How?" was the only thing he heard.

The blond smirked. "You are a Dragon Slayer, aren't you? We have an enhanced sense of smell after all."

But the only response he got was the girl he had pierced dissolving into a puddle of ink. "Too bad that was just an **Ink** **Doppelganger** though." he heard from behind, making him turn and strike another one of her copies.

Gérard tried to keep watching the exchange while he was making his way towards Papière silently. So this was the power of a Dragon Slayer? The whole battle was very awe-inspiring, from the moment they had traded roars. It had to end though, by the way they were using magical energy, they would probably get tired pretty soon. Gérard prepared to make his move when he heard "**Sky Dragon's Air Explosion!**" He saw one of the **Ink Doppelgangers **burst into thousands of droplets.

Naruto was getting a bit winded. The number of copies seemed never-ending although he noted after he disposed of one, it would just remain on the ground as a puddle. So she couldn't control ink from afar, she had to expel it from her body like him or at least be in contact with it. So the real one would be the one that reformed. Ok then, if he could make copies of himself, what would he do? He would probably stay away from the battle and tire his opponent while continue making them. Well it was working so far, though he was sure making so many **Doppelgangers **probably tired her as well. At least he had Air all around him to replenish some of his energy, but this couldn't continue forever. He closed his eyes and tried to expand his sense of smell in hopes of finding her. There!

"**Sky Dragon's Divine Lance!**" Naruto yelled as a small tornado started forming next to him. He grabbed it by the upper part of the funnel, which immediately took the shape of a handle. He lifted it from the ground and hurled it towards a tree. The spearhead, which was the tip of the funnel, became increasingly pointy, as it drilled through the tree and impaled a surprised girl.

"Gotcha!" Naruto yelled happily and started walking towards her.

"Not quite." He barely had the time to turn and see a sideways spinning Inchiostro, about to deliver a combo of axe-kicks. He dodged the first one, but didn't have time for the second. Or the tail. Naruto hit the ground with force from the consecutive hits, letting out a grunt. He felt his head was spinning while he tried to get up.

"**Ink Dragon's Viscid Ink.**" Naruto heard and he found his hands bound to the ground by some sort of sticky ink. He looked up slightly to see a smiling Inchiostro.

"Well, that was fun. You are pretty good shortstuff." she remarked. "I had a lot of fun."

"Now, you're the shorter one, weird-eyes." The blond grunted. The Ink Dragon Slayer's smile only became wider as she reached his chin with her tail and lifted it further, looking into his cerulean orbs. "Not from my point of view. You know, I'm beginning to think you'll always have energy for a witty remark. What should I d.."

The girl was suddenly interrupted. "**Sky Dragon's ROAR!**" She barely turned only to see a hurricane-like blast slam into her and hurl her a couple of meters in the air until she dispersed into ink.

Naruto looked to his left and saw Wendy rushing over. Her hands began glowing in blue, before she grabbed his aching head. "**Sky Dragon's Healing Palm.**"

The blond immediately felt better. He looked worriedly at his little sister though to find she was breathing heavily. "Thanks, Wendy. Don't use any more magic though or you'll pass out. That **Roar** probably took a lot out of you."

"Yes, Naru-nii-chan" the girl gasped as she fell on her knees.

Naruto turned to the sticky ink over his arms "**Sky Dragon's Wings.**" he muttered, creating violent whirlwinds around them, getting rid of his bonds. He stood up and helped Wendy from the ground.

"You damn brats!" The Marvells looked towards a reforming and very angry Inchiostro. "How many of you are there? I'm going to teach both of you a lesson. **Ink Dragon's..**" She began inhaling, but was interrupted.

"That's enough!" The Ink Dragon Slayer looked over to her companion only to see him on the ground, with another boy, this time a blue-haired one standing over him. He was holding the pointed end of a staff at the back of Papière's head. "You're going to let us go. Now." Gérard said.

Despair filled Inchiostro. What the fuck was going on? Was this forest filled with annoying brats? She let go of her breath. "Fine."

Naruto picked his sister in his hands, but before he turned to leave, he looked at the Ink Dragon Slayer. "Uhm.. I was wondering.. Who was the Dragon that trained you?"

Inchiostro was silent for a moment, before she answered "My Father, the Ink Dragon, Atramentum Bella-Tela."

The blond nodded. "Is he all right?"

The girl narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you mean? Be careful what you're going to say.." she threatened, while ink started oozing slightly from her scales.

"Our Mom, Sky Dragon Grandine left us on the 7th of July, this year. She couldn't tell us where she was going or why and we promised we would find her."

Inchiostro had frozen when she heard that. Worry immediately settled in her stomach, followed by fear. "I.. I haven't seen Dad in two months.. I was going to visit him after this mission.."

Naruto saw her look and felt a bit bad. "You know, maybe it was just our Mom that had to go. Who knows, your Dad is probably still where you last saw him at. When you meet him, could you ask him about our Mom? You can tell me next time we meet, I'm sure there will be one."

The Ink Dragon Slayer looked him in the eyes. "What is your name?"

"Naruto Marvell. Remember it! And let your Guild Master know I'm alive and I'll be looking for him!"

His little sister turned towards Inchiostro. "And I'm Wendy Marvell!"

The older girl nodded and looked at the blue-haired boy. "Gérard." was all he said.

She looked one last time at the now retreating blond. "Next time we meet, you won't get lucky and no one will interrupt our fight, shortstuff."

Naruto turned one last time towards her. "Next time, I'm going to beat you, plank-chest!" and disappeared in the forest.

Inchiostro shifted her gaze at the other boy. "Aren't you going to follow them?"

"After a bit. I have to make sure you won't follow us."

They remained like that for a while. The girl looked her partner in the eyes and saw him barely nod. She smiled at Gérard. "You know, I think you should have run by now."

Before Gérard could say anything, something pointy was pressed against his neck. Or rather several pointy things in the form of a claw. In front of him, the Ink Dragon Slayer dissolved into a puddle of ink.

"Game over." Inchiostro whispered in his ear, only to see him smirk. The blue-haired boy turned into mist and dispersed. "An illusion! What the fuck is up with these kids?"

"They were quite impressive." Papière stood up with a small smile. "Gérard managed to catch me in an illusion while I was watching your fight and sneaked behind me. I suspect the second illusion was probably created while you were talking with the Sky Dragon Slayers. They also took the scroll with the ritual."

"WHAT?" his partner yelled. She turned at the direction the blond had run off too and wings sprouted from her back. She made one step stretching them and started falling over.

"Don't." Papière caught her in his arms and lifted her bridal style. "You've exhausted too much of your magical power. And you can't fool me, that **Spiralling Orb** and the final **Roar** hurt you pretty bad. You couldn't liquefy fast enough, because you were caught by surprise."

"Shut up." she said tiredly. Her tail and wings had dissolved and her scales were slowly disappearing, threatening to leave her completely exposed. "My bottles are in the back pocket of my back-pack."

Nodding, Papière carried his exhausted partner to her tenth and set her on her sleeping bag. He took out two big bottles, containing black liquid from her back-pack and handed her one of them. She immediately opened it and started drinking. All Dragon Slayer recovered their magical power when they consumed their element. In her case, she drank ink, which immediately made her feel better. She quickly downed the second bottle afterwards, before standing up.

"Let's go get those brats!"

"No." her partner stopped her. "We don't know where they are headed and another battle would be too risky. Even if I joined, I'm not sure we'd be able to win. We still don't know the full extend of Gérard's abilities and that mist illusion looked like Air magic. Considering his resemblance to Wendy, it would be safe to assume he was their brother as well, which only means he is also a Sky Dragon Slayer. We can't go against three mages of such calibre, who would need only air to recover. Something which is in abundance, while you just finished your last bottle of ink." He gave her a smile. "We underestimated them and we paid for that. Rest now and we'll just go back in the pyramid and we'll make another copy. No big deal."

Inchiostro cursed. "Fuck! Next time, I'll make them pay for this."

**!~¡**

Naruto and Gérard were walking along a road. They had kept moving for the past three hours. They had run for the first half-hour, trying to put as much distance as possible between them and the Nove Volpi members.

The sun would begin setting down in an hour and soon, they would need to make a camp, which was something they didn't really want. They had hoped they would have reached a town by now, but luck was not on their side. For now, while there was still light, they would continue.

Gérard looked over to Naruto. Wendy had fallen asleep while they were still running and hadn't woken since. The blue-haired boy had suggested they switched carrying her, but the blond had refused, saying he would recover fast, thanks to his magic. Dragon Slayers were really amazing. So Gérard had just settled for carrying her small back-pack.

They hadn't had the chance to open the scroll yet, but the marked boy could tell Naruto was eager to do it. They hadn't spoken much during the past three hours, instead opting on focusing on their senses. However, Gérard decided it was safe enough to start.

"So.. You owe me a story." He joked, smiling at the blond.

Naruto laughed briefly. "Yeah, I guess I do. Brace yourself though, it's a crazy one. Bear with me until the end and I'll answer any questions you might have." Gérard just nodded and looked at the blond intently.

The cerulean-eyed boy took a deep breath. "Remember when I told you the Nine-tailed Demon Fox attacked the village on the night I was born? And the village leader sealed it away in a child? He was my father and I was the child. He sacrificed his life to make me a Jinchūriki. That's a person with a sealed Tailed beast within him." Naruto continued his story, telling him everything. Who his parents were and what happened on that night, his painful and lonely past in the Elemental Nations, how he was summoned to this world, how the Fox was released, almost killing him, how Grandine had saved him and given him a second chance at life.

When he finished, he turned to Gérard to see a bewildered expression on his face. The blue-haired boy had been surprised at first that Naruto was from another world as well, but that was only a brief moment. He was more shocked at the tough life he had initially. Now he understood his devotion to his sister, as well as his desire to find his mother. He wasn't sure what he wanted with the Fox though. So he asked him.

Naruto remained silent for a while after the question. "I guess I want to talk to him. He is the only one in this world, that knew my parents, so I'm curious what he thought of them. I'm also curious about the masked man and why he attacked. My parents didn't know him, but maybe the Kyuubi would."

"Do you want revenge for the death of your parents?" Gérard asked.

"Mmmm.." Naruto mused. "No, not really. It was a long time ago and something like that wouldn't really bring them back. Besides, I like my life very much with my current family. And even though the Fox dealt the final blow, my parents would have died anyway that night, so it wasn't really his fault. I doubt I would see the masked man in Earth Land, so revenge would be really stupid."

"I want to know what the Fox is planning. Even though he was controlled that night and was forced to attack the Hidden Leaf village, he is still a demon. He might be plotting something sinister for this world and if he is, I will stop him. Of course, I probably won't stand a chance against him as I am now, so I am going to get stronger for the moment until we meet."

Gérard merely nodded. He had understood Naruto's life had been tough and probably even tougher decisions would come in the future. All he could do was be there for his friend.

Said friend looked at him. "You know, Gérard, you're taking this awfully well, for someone who just met a person from another world."

The blue-haired boy laughed. "Oh, I have a very interesting story about that myself. I will tell you when Wendy wakes up and we make.. a.." Gérard trailed off and stopped. Naruto looked at him quizzically and saw him turn towards the forest, saying. "Anima**[2]**!"

Confused, Naruto tasted the air. He could feel the air currents moving unnaturally. They had felt normal just a moment ago. "Gérard, what's going on?"

The blue-haired boy just looked at him. "Stay here with Wendy. I have to check something out, it might get too dangerous for the two of you."

Naruto snorted. "You know, I'm experiencing déjà vu here. Except.. Yeah, our roles were reversed just a couple of hours ago!" He chuckled "Come on, Gérard, we are friends, aren't we? Let me help _you_ out this time."

Gérard thought it over for a bit. He sighed in the end. The blond was right. "Fine. But if it gets too dangerous, promise me you and Wendy would leave me and run."

Naruto snorted again. "Yeah, right. Keep dreaming. Let's go now!" The blue-haired boy shook his head. That was Naruto for you. He was grateful though. He felt a lot better with the Marvells with him.. As if he didn't have to carry the burden all alone anymore.

"This way." The two boys started running through the forest again. After a bit, they reached a cliff, overlooking a huge crater. They looked in the air and saw an enormous swirling hole in the sky.

"Damn!" Gérard cursed. "I was too late." He took his staff and pointed it at the hole. Naruto could feel a gathering of magical energy around the wood, before it shot towards the hole, in the form of a bright ray of light. As it reached the sky, bolts of lightning shot from it, reaching the edges of the hole. After a brief struggle, it began closing, until the sky looked normal again.

"What was that?" asked a bewildered Naruto.

"Anima." Gérard simply stated. Seeing the questions in his friend's eyes, he continued. "It is a dimensional gate, towards another universe, with a world very much similar to this one, called Edolas."

"Whoa.." was all that Naruto could say. Even though he was from another dimension himself, he couldn't help not being amazed at something so grand. His eyes caught something else in the distance though.

"Hey look! Doesn't that over there look like a village?" The blond screamed, pointing with his foot towards a multitude of houses in a far-away place.

Gérard looked in that direction and spotted them as well. "Hm.. Looks like a 3-4 hour trip. We don't have that much though, the sun's going to set soon."

"No choice then. We'll use **Vernier**."

His friend looked at him worriedly. "Won't that exhaust you even further?"

The blond just grinned. "Don't worry about it, I've recovered some of my energy back in the last couple of hours. If it gets bad, I'll just stop the spell and we'll continue walking."

Naruto received an uncertain nod from Gérard and chanted. "**Fast winds that run the heaven.. Vernier!**" Four wind bracelets appeared around each one of their ankles.

"Let's go." Naruto said and the two boys started running at an incredible speed. Gérard realized if they kept moving like this, then they would be able to reach the village in two hours, two and a half at most.

The blond had another question on his mind though. "Hey, Gérard, how did you know about the Anima?"

His friend sighed. "Because, Naruto.. I am from Edolas."

**!~¡**

The sun had set for a some time, when the two boys reached the town. Both of them were quite winded and Naruto was at the point where he was taking huge and heavy breaths. The constant maintaining of **Vernier **had exhausted him quite a bit. He couldn't keep it on all the time, so at some points they would stop for a quick rest or just walk for a while, before resuming their run.

Despite his protests, Gérard had convinced him to switch carrying Wendy. He had reasoned that Naruto was already getting tired enough from maintaining a spell while running at the same time, so he shouldn't be burdened by that at least. In fact, the blond was actually grateful, since at some points his hands had started hurting.

That was why Gérard was the one carrying Wendy at the time. The girl had actually woken up a few times during their journey and that was the second part of their reason for stopping or just walking. They had decided it would be better if she was asleep while they were travelling, so they had taken the time to help her with that. Gérard had decided he should find a staff, capable of casting sleep magic. That could be very useful at times.

Their little group had been quite lucky actually. No wild animals came in their way and the night was clear with a full moon and lots of stars to illuminate their journey. Had it not been like that they would have been forced to camp somewhere and even worse, make a fire. They still wanted to keep a low profile after all, in case Nove Volpi came after them.

They were happy to finally reach the village, so they could have some rest and food. However, the good mood immediately fell when they saw the state of the buildings. The whole town looked like it had been abandoned for quite a while. It wasn't that big of a town anyway, but to see it void of life was disheartening. The boys decided they should look around in case someone had been living here or at least to search for proper beds.

They went to the plaza and looked around. Gérard had said that this would probably be the best place to start from. This way they could also get some idea of the placement of the buildings and the streets of the village. And he had been right. They immediately noticed a small house, that looked as rundown as the rest of the town. The difference was light was coming out from one of its windows.

The boys looked at each other and shared a brief nod. They went to the only bright building and Naruto stepped to the door and knocked, while Gérard stayed behind one of the corners, still holding Wendy. No response came and Naruto knocked on the door again, this time more insistently. After the third hit, the door opened.

In front of him stood a small, slim, elderly man with a long white beard and big moustache. He had black eyes and large, furry, white eyebrows, which actually joined with his beard at the sideburns of his face. On his forehead he had a tattoo, consisting of a red dot, with two arched red stripes around it.

On his head, he had an impressive feather headgear, made from white eagle feathers, with their tips painted red. Around his neck he had a large necklace, consisting of massive teeth, hanging over his bare chest. He wore a light cloth, tied and circling around his waist, paired with loose dark pants reaching below his knees and simple black shoes. He had more lighter-coloured feathers aborning the back of his waist and wore two large golden bracelets over each biceps, with his forearms being bandaged.

He looked at the blond expectantly, without saying anything. His large bushy brows and serious face gave off the impression he was slightly frowning.

Naruto gulped. "Uhm.. Hi."

"Hello." the old man greeted. Both of them studied each other in the awkward silence that followed, before Naruto decided he should talk more.

"Well.. uh.. My name is Naruto Marvell and I've been travelling with my family in the wilderness for the past month and a half, looking for a town. We finally found this village and noticed that this was the only place that had light coming from it and.. I was wondering, if we could spend the night?"

The old man gave him a long calculating look, before he asked. "And where might your family be?"

Naruto motioned to his left and waved Gérard over. The other boy came next to the blond, still holding the sleeping Wendy. "Hello, I'm Gérard." he greeted, receiving a nod from the old man.

The bearded geezer looked at the two boys for a bit longer, before giving them a wide smile. "Of course, come in." He moved to the side, making a way for the boys to enter through. They gave him a wide smile and Naruto exclaimed excitedly. "Thanks a lot, old man!"

Gérard was a bit more polite. "Thanks, Mister."

"No problem, no problem." the bearded man waved them off. "My name is Roubaul. I should warn you, I don't have much to eat and the only drinks I have aren't suitable for children."

"That's all right, old man! We have brought our own food, we'd be happy to share it with you as well." A happy blond gave him a huge grin.

The house itself was as rundown on the inside as it was on the outside. It didn't bother the children that much though, as long as they would have a roof over their heads for tonight. There was even a small table with a couple of chairs in what looked like a living room. But the biggest treat was the fireplace.

The boys started settling, leaving their bags on the floor near the walls and putting a still sleeping Wendy on a blanket. She still hadn't recovered completely from the battle. After all, she was barely six and Sky Dragon's magic was very tiring.

After that, the boys had begun unpacking and setting the table. They cleaned and lit up the fireplace and cleared some of the rubble and dirt from the room. When the room had reached a liking level of 'good-enough' they decided it was time to wake up Wendy and eat.

In the meantime, Roubaul had gone to take some of his sake and was quite pleasantly surprised at the state of the room when he came back. He saw the blond going over to the little girl.

"Wendy." he shook her. "Wake up, it's dinner time." The girl groggily opened her eyes and yawned. She stood up and hugged her brother, before she looked around.

"Where are we, Naru-nii-chan?"

"We've reached the village and we're at the house of this nice old man." Naruto motioned. "His name is Roubaul. Roubaul, meet my cute little sister, Wendy."

The girl hid a blush behind her brother and gave the old man a shy smile. "Hello."

Roubaul returned a wider smile. "Hello there, little lady. I have to say, your brother is right, you are very cute."

That made Wendy blush even more, but she still gave him a huge grin.

"Now, let's eat!" Naruto happily yelled and sat on the table.

They began having dinner. It wasn't much, just whatever left-overs the three children had from the deer meat and some vegetables and fruits. But it was more than enough for them. Roubaul had eaten a bit with them, but had opted to drink sake more.

They made small conversation, where the children told him about their predicament. He was surprised to learn Dragons actually existed and that there were two powerful Dragon Slayers in his home. Gérard hadn't said too much, only that he was without parents.

The old man was quite surprised when he learned that he wasn't in fact related to the Marvells. He and the girl looked so much alike after all. On the other hand, when Wendy got out of her shy demeanor, Roubaul immediately saw she had the same personality as her older brother.

He had also learnt they had some sort of skirmish with another guild and were now looking for a guild themselves. But while they were talking, the old man noticed the two boys were eager to talk about something and would wait for him to leave to do so, no matter how late it got. So Roubaul excused himself and told him they could sleep in the living room, since he only had one more room in the house and it was his. In truth, he wouldn't normally sleep there, but he wanted to give the children some privacy.

After the old man had left, Naruto looked expectantly at Gérard. He had decided not to ask too many questions until they reached the village, since they had a more important task at hand. His friend had said Wendy should be awake too, so she would get to hear the story as well. In truth, Naruto was actually burning from curiosity and it had probably showed in his eyes, since Gérard let out a chuckle.

"All right, all right. Let me start from the beginning, since Wendy was asleep." He told the little girl about the whole in the sky and how he had closed it.

"That was the Anima. It is a dimensional gate, linking this world, Earth Land, to another – Edolas. Unlike this universe, Edolas' doesn't have an infinite amount of magic. It had actually been severely diminished in the past several years. The people there don't have a natural talent for magic or any amount of it in them for that matter. Mages still existed, but they would be people that utilized magical weapons."

"The population had become increasingly desperate for magical power since the society was quite reliant on it. And so a solution was found – the Anima was created and the King of a certain Kingdom would use it to steal magical power from this world."

"At first, everything was going all right. The people were happy they could still somehow obtain magic and carry on with their lives. But the King changed. He became increasingly drunk with the power and started conquering other Kingdoms to gather their magical energies as well. In the end, there was one Kingdom left, now known simply as the Kingdom of Edolas."

"But that wasn't enough for the King. He would start concentrating all the magical power he gathered into the capitol, where it would be all to himself. He didn't care that much about the people anymore, just about the magic."

"So he started using the Anima more and more to steal it from this world. 'Earth Land had an infinite amount, they wouldn't miss it.' he reasoned and the people would listen. But the more he gathered, the more he desired, until the kind King was completely gone, replaced by a power-hungry maniac."

Here Gérard paused, with clear sadness in his eyes. He looked at the table for some time, while the Marvells were absorbing the story they had just heard. The blue-haired boy eventually continued.

"His son, the Prince of Edolas, disagreed with his father's methods. He had seen and experienced the changes in the kind man he so loved and was deeply hurt by the insane man that had replaced him. Realizing his father would never stop using the Anima, no matter how much power he gathered, he decided it was time to act, in hopes of not only saving and returning the kind old King, but also saving Edolas from an inevitable disaster, that would be most likely caused by its power-hungry ruler. The name of the King is Faust and his son was called.." he paused a bit, before looking up from the table and continuing.

"Gérard."

A surprised gasp escaped from the Marvells. But the now revealed Prince didn't give them a chance to say anything. "I travelled to this world, using the Anima, in hopes of closing it from this side whenever it appeared. Even though I don't have magical power of my own, I am very skilled with magical weapons and staves. This way, I would stop my father's supply of magical energy and perhaps the kind King from before would realize the wrongs he was committing."

Gérard looked pointedly at Naruto. "That's why I didn't want you to come with me. If you were trapped in the Anima, you could have been transported to Edolas. And from what I know, any magical energy that comes from this world is turned into a lacryma crystal." He paused a bit, preparing himself for what he was about to say.

"That's why I think we should separate and I should travel on my own. It would be too dangerous for you and your sister to be with me. If you end up being sucked and turned into a lacryma crystal, I don't think there would be anything I could do to save you from my father." He barely finished the sentence, before he was tackled by a crying Wendy, making the both of them fall from it onto the ground.

"No!" she screamed and held him tightly. "You are as stupid as Naru-nii-chan!"

Gérard felt he was in trouble. "But Wendy.." This time though, Naruto didn't come to his aid, quite the opposite actually.

"She's right, Gérard. How can you expect us to leave you now, that you've told us the importance of your mission as well as the danger behind it. The same way you helped me face against Nove Volpi, now let us help you in overcoming this task. You said it yourself, we are friends, right? Even though we've known each other for so little, I even consider you a part of our family now. I can't let my older brother deal with something this difficult by himself."

"I am not letting you go." was all that Wendy said.

Naruto continued though "It seems my sister agrees with me." he chuckled. "And besides, you promised you would help me with Nove Volpi. We still don't know what's in that scroll. For all we know, the stupid Fox could have plans for world domination. Hey, it might even decide to expand them to your world as well." Everyone laughed at his joke. The atmosphere had lightened up now and Gérard decided to agree.

"You are right. It was stupid of me. I think I caught it from you."

"Hey!" Both Gérard and Wendy laughed at the blond's outburst. The blue-haired boy continued "Let's get some sleep for now. Tomorrow morning we should open the scroll and see what it contains. I also think we should stay here for a while, if Roubaul lets us. We've been travelling in the forest for a long time and it would be better if we had some rest. After that we can continue with our search for a guild."

"All right!" both the Marvells exclaimed happily. Before Gérard could get up though, he was punched lightly in the gut by Wendy. He looked at her surprised only to receive a kiss on the cheek.

"Don't ever say you'll leave me again. Promise."

Gérard just smiled. "I promise Wendy."

The little girl nodded and let him go. She stood up, went to her brother and hugged him as well. "You too, Naru-nii-chan."

Naruto laughed. "Of course, Wendy, I promise. And you know I never go back on my world. We'll find Mom together, won't we?"

She smiled at him. "Nine-tails as well! And we'll stop Faust too!" Everyone laughed at their new-found resolve.

"Let's get to bed now." Naruto said and they all lied down in their sleeping bags. Tonight, Wendy had insisted they would sleep close to Gérard, with her between the two boys. After all, she wasn't going to let them go, ever.

After everyone had gone to sleep, one of the corners got distorted, until it revealed a lost in thought Roubaul. Such interesting children. Perhaps he had found those, who would help him in his quest. He could feel the power and charisma emanating from them, even Gérard, despite the boy not having any magical power. He had no doubt, they would become very important people in the future. Indeed, Fate have given him a great gift, now he needed to find a way to convince them to stay here.

Humming in though, Roubaul left the sleeping children and went to the other room.

**!~¡**

On the next morning, Naruto, Wendy and Gérard were preparing to open the scroll in the living room. Roubaul was sitting at the table, drinking his sake and observing the three children. They had noticed, no matter how much alcohol the old geezer drank, he would never get even tipsy. It didn't affect him in the slightest. Maybe that was why he would drink it from the morning.

Naruto looked at the other two, who just nodded at him and opened the scroll. What followed was not expected by anyone.

"AaAaAaAaAaAaAaA!" The scream was heard throughout the empty town.

**!~¡**

"Really now, brats. You should be more careful when you are opening things without knowing what they are containing." Roubaul was scolding them, while using Telekinesis magic to roll in the now enormous piece of paper. The moment Naruto had opened the scroll, it had expanded rapidly and covered everything in the room. It actually made for an extremely comical situation, if you were the one observing it that is.

"Whoa, old man, that's amazing. You are a mage?" Naruto asked in astonishment.

"Of course, I am actually a very powerful mage." He finished with the rolling and started moving the giant scroll towards the window. "Open the window, Naruto, and let us go outside. There will be more space there and we can finally see what this is about."

After a minute, everyone was outside and Roubaul had stretched the giant piece of paper on the ground. He had frozen at what he was seeing though.

"Hmmm.. I don't understand anything that's on this thing." Naruto scratched his chin in thought. "How about you Gérard?"

"Not a clue." his friend shook his head.

"Brats." Roubaul said in a serious tone. "Where did you get this?"

Naruto turned a curious look at him. "You know what it says, old man?"

"Yeah, it's written in an ancient language called Nirvit. Now answer me."

"Well, remember when we told you we fought with a guild, Nove Volpi?" Roubaul just nodded. The blond continued "We found them coming out from the ruins of an ancient pyramid, carrying this. It's the reason we fought with them."

"Hm.." The old man trailed in thought. "Why was it important to you, you had no idea what the scroll contained."

Naruto shook his head. "It was because of the guild they belonged in."

Roubaul lifted a furry eyebrow "What's so special about it?"

The three children looked at him with a calculating look and then at each other worriedly.

"Oh come on, brats. You have nothing to worry about, I'm just an old mage that has chosen a life of solitude. No one comes by here often and even if they do, they never stay for long. Whatever it is, your secret would be safe with me."

Naruto let out a sigh. Roubaul had been very nice and hospitable to them and in a way he kind of reminded him of the old-man Hokage from the Elemental Nations. "We should sit down, it's a long story."

**!~¡**

"So.." Roubaul said, while scratching his beard, not paying attention in the slightest to the sake spilling from his mouth. He had somehow neglected to swallow it properly. "Let me get this straight. Two of you are Dragon Slayers, one of you is a Prince on a mission to stop his father, two of you are from a different world and you" he pointed at the blond "used to be the container of a powerful Demon, called the Nine-tailed Demon Fox, who is now lose in this world and has formed his own guild."

The children looked at him in shock. They hadn't told him anything about Gérard.

"Oh, don't give me that look. Last night, I accidentally cast an illusion and heard your conversation. I'm an old Hermit and it's been getting really, really, really boring lately. Plus I was curious." He was pierced by three glares. "I told you, don't worry, your secrets are safe with me."

Naruto shook his head and sighed. "Yeah, that's about it. Oh, you forgot, next time I see the Ink Dragon Slayer, I'm going to beat her!"

Roubaul just chuckled at the blond. "Well, from what I've read from that scroll, it actually depicts a ritual of summoning a Demon."

Naruto immediately jumped to his feet. "What? Why would Kyuubi need something like that?"

"Who knows.." Gérard was the one that answered. "But it's clear, we can't just let him be, at least until we learn more about his intentions."

"That's right!" Wendy joined in. "Maybe we should look for a guild right now."

"That won't do." Roubaul interrupted the children. "I'm not sure if you know that, but it is forbidden for two guilds to fight each other, by the council. Actually.. What type of guild is Nove Volpi? A Light or a Dark one."

"Inchiostro said it was neither. They are an independent guild, meaning they don't answer to a Magic council, but at the same time they don't oppose one." Naruto explained.

"Hm.. Well then, here are your options. You can't join a Light guild, since it is forbidden for them to fight other guilds in order to maintain peace and stability. Magic can be very dangerous sometimes and could even alter reality in a disastrous way. Even to fight against a Dark guild, you would need permission. So in order to fight with another guild, even if it is an independent one, you would need to join a Dark guild."

All the children immediately grimaced and started shaking their heads. "That's what I thought." the old man continued. "In this case, you need to find an independent guild and join it. Unfortunately, there aren't many of those. Truthfully, this is the first I heard of one in many years. So I can't really help you with that."

The children looked dejectedly at the ground, after hearing his words. Roubaul smiled though. "Well, there is another way. You can create your own independent guild. In that case, if you fought with another independent guild, the Magic council can't directly do anything about it, unless there were bystanders hurt. Of course, you would still need a powerful mage as a Guild Master, in order to offer you some kind of leverage and protection. I can feel you kids are strong and have great potential, but are still quite young."

"But where are we going to find a powerful mage to be our Guild Master?" Naruto asked, tilting his head to the right, with Wendy repeating his motion.

Roubaul laughed "Well, you kids are in luck. How about I become your Guild Master? As I've said, I am a powerful mage. Plus I know several ancient languages, so in case Nove Volpi goes after ancient rituals and you recover them, I could decipher them, so we would get a better idea of what Nine-tails is doing. And I can't really stand by and do nothing, when you children have such important tasks to do."

Said children shared a look between each other. It was amazing, after such a short amount of time, Gérard and the Marvells could understand each other with just a look. Everyone nodded slightly, before both Naruto and Wendy jumped and grabbed Roubaul in a hug.

"That's great, old man! Thank you!" They both shouted, while still suffocating the poor old man. After Gérard pointed out they would be left without a Guild Master if they didn't let go, Naruto decided to ask.

"So, what are we going to call ourselves?"

**!~¡**

The Nine-tailed Demon Fox was listening intently to Inchiostro and Papière's report of their mission. They had managed to bring back a scroll with a copy of the ritual, but had apparently encountered some trouble.

Kyuubi covered his eyes with a paw and shook his head. Out of everyone in Earth Land, they had managed to come across the one person he didn't want to find out about his plans. What's more, apparently that same person now had a copy of the ritual himself so he could figure out what was going on. This was without a doubt, some sick joke courtesy of Fate. No one else would have recognized that guild mark. But it had to be Naruto.

After the initial annoyance, the Fox smiled slightly. So the boy had managed to survive. And he had a family too. Inchiostro just came to the part where Naruto had said he'd be looking for him. Nine-tails couldn't keep himself from letting out a chuckle. Oh yeah, the boy was going to be a pain in the ass in the years to come. Especially since he had the same personality as Kushina. Not to mention, he was also apparently a Dragon Slayer and had a family of Dragon Slayers as well. They sounded quite good as well, to be able to hold their own like that against his guild.

Maybe it wasn't so bad. Judging by the way Inchiostro spoke about him, there would be many more fights between them in the future. Things would certainly get interesting. The Kyuubi wasn't that worried about Naruto finding him. Even if he did, the Fox doubted he would be powerful enough to stop him. Plus, Nine-tails was eternal, he would make his plans come true eventually.

Honestly, he would have been a bit worried if things had gotten too easy. If life becomes like that, it usually meant trouble. Now, he would have some sort of entertainment. The last seven years had been quite boring, especially since his yin chakra hadn't been recovered fully. Apparently, it took a long time to travel through dimensions. No matter though, in a few moths he would have it all back and he wouldn't need to worry about the Dragons that much anymore. Especially since this new information about Grandine leaving on the 7th of July.

"What should we do about him, Master?" It was Leonard that asked him.

The Fox hummed. "Nothing. Naruto is of no consequence. Things would be boring if they went too easy anyway. And ominous too.." The Fox trailed off, before he continued. "If he becomes too much of a pain and is stupid enough to challenge me, I will dispose of him myself. Otherwise, we will continue with our plans."

The rest nodded. "Yes, Master." Leonard wasn't too pleased with his decision though. He wouldn't mind if things went easy for once, but that was one of his Guild Master's quirks.

"Now leave me, I'm going to take a nap." Nine-tails ordered.

Inchiostro snorted. Lazy-ass fox. She couldn't keep her smile though, she would have her chance for a rematch. And next time, no one would interrupt them. First, she needed to check on her father though. She hadn't been able to sleep at all, since Naruto had told her what happened to his mother. She had even made Papière fly faster, to keep up with her. Strangely, her partner had apparently sensed her discomfort and hadn't made any comment about it.

She took in her scale form and immediately sprouted her wings and tail. The Ink Dragon Slayer waved quickly to Papière and Leonard and took flight.

"You better be there, Dad." Inchiostro whispered, with a heavy feeling in her heart.

**!~¡**

Wendy sat on top of a cliff, overlooking a road that led to their village. It had been one year since they had decided to form their guild. They still haven't chosen a name for it, because her Naru-nii-chan insisted it had to be something badass and cool like Inchiostro's guild. He was adamant he would never lose to 'that flat-chest or the stupid Fox' even in guild names. Wendy giggled a bit. Her brother had faced the Ink Dragon Slayer once more after their last meeting a year ago and the resulting battle had actually changed the landscape a bit.

It was a good thing they haven't chosen a name or a guild-mark yet. That's what Roubaul had explained at least. He had said they should still keep a low profile, until they get stronger. If any more battles like that occurred and the Magic Council of Fiore could place names behind it, it might choose to take action.

The battle itself was fought far away from any civilization, at some old ruins again. So there were no casualties and it had actually taken sometime for people to notice the change in terrain. Naruto and Gérard had been looking for an Anima to conduct some experiments, before properly closing it and of course, Wendy had tagged along. So they had witnessed their fight, which ended in a draw eventually, picked up Naruto and had left. They had also returned later on to try and find out what Nove Volpi had been looking for there, since this time they weren't as lucky and couldn't retrieve the scroll they were carrying.

Wendy frowned, when she noticed the sun was setting down. Today was the 6th of July, year 778 and tomorrow they were supposed to return to their old home and spend the day there. In case Grandine had decided to return. But Gérard had sensed an Anima and had gone to close it quickly and Naruto had gone off on a searching trip, so she was left alone with Roubaul. She liked the old man a lot, but when the boys left sometimes, she would get lonely with just him. And they had both been missing for more than a month, Naru-nii-chan for two even.

It was the battle with Inchiostro that had caused him to leave. After they had retreated, he had said that the Ink Dragon Slayer dominated the battle and he was barely able to keep up with her. The only reason he got a draw was because he could replenish his magical energy in an easier way than her. But Naruto had been certain she would find a way around that.

He had also said that she had used Rune magic in the fight, which was what gave her the edge. So he had gone on a trip to search for a rune master. He had to create his father's technique after all as well. And he considered that area of magic to be one more thing in their intense rivalry.

Nevertheless, he had promised he'd be back by tomorrow. Both of them had. They were all going to go to their old house together, even with Roubaul. Wendy let out a sigh and blinked the tears threatening to fall from her eyes away. "Stupid nii-chan. Stupid Gérard." She stood up and started making her way towards her home.

While she was walking though, the final rays of sunlight shone over something that caught her attention. She walked towards it and discovered a giant white egg with many silver markings outlined on it.

"Hmm.. Wonder what this is?" Wendy tried to lift it and found it was a bit heavy. Hey, wait a minute. Dragons hatched from eggs, right? And this one was unnaturally big and heavy. Maybe it was a Dragon Egg! Wait, since it had silver marking, it could be one of Grandine's eggs!

Letting out a happy squeal at the prospect of another sibling which she could spend time with, she carefully started walking home.

**!~¡**

"Shit, shit, shit, shit!"

Naruto was in trouble. He was running at full speed with **Vernier**, but he would still be late. He winced when he imagined a sad and crying Wendy. He immediately tried to double his speed. He would be home by the morning, no matter what.

He was moving too fast, to notice where he was stepping, causing him to trip on something, start rolling on the ground, while still maintaining great speed, before finally hitting a tree causing it to break.

After a while, a grunt was heard. "**Sky Dragon's Healing Palm**.." Blue energy surrounded Naruto's hands and he went over his battered body with them. After he took care of his injuries, he stood up and cursed.

"What the fuck!" He went over to the offending object and saw it was a half-buried giant white egg. He lifted his eyebrows in curiosity and started digging it out.

"Whoa, I've never seen an egg this big!" Naruto exclaimed as he traced over the black markings of the egg with his fingers. "Hey! Maybe it's a Dragon's Egg!" he screamed and tried to lift it. It wasn't that heavy.. He could carry it home.. Home! Shit, he was running late! He hoped the egg would appease his sister enough.

"**Fast winds that run the heaven.. Vernier!**" two small cyclones formed around Naruto's ankles and he immediately started running again, this time, carrying a giant egg with him.

**!~¡**

Wendy woke up with the smell of ramen filling her nose. Ramen! That meant Naru-nii-chan was back! Every time he would go on a trip, he would prepare ramen for breakfast on the day he was back. That meant they would still be able to go to their clearing.

Wendy stood up from her bed and picked up the egg. Since she was feeling lonely and she had also read that eggs needed to be kept warm, she slept with it last night. Wait until Naru-nii-chan sees it. She rushed downstairs to the living room and saw a sleepy Gérard and Roubaul talking happily with Naruto, who was currently busy finishing with the cooking. After they had decided they would live here, they had moved into a bigger house. Naruto and Gérard had plans to build a Guildhouse soon though, so they would be moving into a new home when they did.

Seeing both her brother and Gérard back and talking with Roubaul, her whole family together at one place, made Wendy extremely happy. She put the egg on the ground carefully, before she rushed towards her blond.

"Naru-nii-chan!" She grabbed him in a crushing hug. "You made me worry! I thought you wouldn't be back for today."

Naruto laughed, while he returned the hug and patted his little sister on the head. "I promised I'd be back, right? And I never go back on my word." Wendy let him go and kissed him on the cheek.

"Right! So how was your trip, Naru-nii-chan?" Wendy said, while going over to Gérard to hug and kiss him as well. The blue-haired boy was a bit startled, since he had fallen asleep during the exchange.

"Great! I found a teacher for rune magic." the blond smiled "But I'll tell you all about it later. I have a surprise for you!"

"Me too!" screamed Wendy and ran over to her egg. When she picked it and turned back, she almost dropped it in surprise, when she saw her brother was holding another egg with the same markings, but this time they were coloured in black.

Naruto lifted his eyebrows. "You found one too, Wendy?"

"Yeah." she nodded. "It's Grandine's egg!" she smiled happily as she brought it over to the table.

"You know, I'm certain I've seen these before somewhere." Gérard barely suppressed a yawn. "I can't figure out where though."

"That's because you travelled the whole night and just came back home. You should sleep, brother." Naruto turned to the blue-haired boy. In the past year, their friendship had only strengthened and they considered themselves real family now.

Gérard nodded. "Yeah, I should. But we don't really have that much time. We'll be going to your old home after breakfast right? I just might rest a bit there."

Everyone nodded, before Naruto said. "All right, breakfast is ready. Let's eat!" They started setting the table, but were suddenly interrupted by a loud crack. They turned their heads and noticed in shock the eggs had began moving and cracking. All of them gathered around in anticipation.

The first one to crack open was the black one. From inside came out a black kitten with a dark-green belly. It had narrow brown eyes, but its most distinguishable feature were his ears. They had fur around them, in a spiky shape, looking a lot like the leaves of a pineapple.

The kitten gave them a lazy look, before it muttered "Troublesome.." and fell asleep after a brief yawn.

"It can talk!" Naruto, Wendy and Roubaul shouted, pointing at the kitten. It opened its eye briefly to look at their shocked expressions, before it grunted and went back to sleep.

"You know, you remind me of someone from my old world." Naruto said, cupping his cheek in thought. "You kind of even look like him." He went over to the black kitten and picked it up. It open its eyes and gave him an irritated look. "Oh yeah, definitely. I think I'm going to name you Shikamaru. Or Shika for short."

The kitten looked pleased at that, before it yawned and closed its eyes again, finally being left to sleep in piece by the troublesome loud people.

"Hey." Gérard said, "I remember now. Those are.."

He was interrupted by the second egg cracking, to reveal a white kitten. When she saw it, Wendy squealed "Awwww, look, it's so cute!" But the kitten only responded with a far-away look. "Can we keep it? Please?" She turned her hopeful eyes towards her brother.

"Those are Exceed." Gérard was finally able to say. Everyone turned to him, as he continued. "Those are the only beings in my world, having natural magical power. They are regarded as Gods and also have the ability to fly."

"Wait.. You said the sky was green in Edolas, right?" Wendy asked. After Gérard nodded, she continued. "And you have flying cats? Ha! I win, Naru-nii-chan!"

"Damn" muttered Naruto dejectedly. Both Gérard and Roubaul shook their heads. Sometimes those two would lose focus of the important things.

Wendy for her part, went to the white kitten and hugged it. "I think I'll call you Charle."

"This is so strange. What are Exceed doing here?" Gérard wondered, having a bad feeling about it.

"And what are we going to do about them? We can't leave them without a shelter." Naruto had regained his focus.

Wendy suddenly got an idea. "I know! We should keep them as a part of our guild. You said they possessed magical power and had the ability to fly, right?" She turned towards Gérard, who nodded. "Then they can become mages and our guild-mates! I also thought of a name for our guild."

Everyone looked at her expectantly, including Shikamaru and Charle. "Cait Shelter!" Wendy exclaimed, giving them a huge grin. Roubaul and Gérard nodded, apparently satisfied with the name as well. Everyone looked towards Naruto, who was holding his chin in thought.

"Cait Shelter, huh?" he finally said. "Caits versus Volpi.. I like it!"

**!~¡**

**~! End of Prologue !~**

**!~¡**

*****Inchiostro – to be read Inkiostro. It's Italian.

**[1]**Nove Volpi – Nine foxes. (it.)

**[2]**Anima – Soul. (it.)

**!~¡**

**Author's Ramblings: **Hehe, I bet a lot of Italians and French were laughing at this chapter. A quick note, you might have noticed I referenced some English words at the end as well. That's actually because of a little challenge I'm having for myself. I have an app on my phone, which is a dictionary, that gives me a "Word of the Day" everyday. So I decided I would use the words that come up in the days I am writing the chapter. Just a small exercise to improve myself and better remember the words. I referenced them, because they aren't really common, so not everyone may know it. Especially since I don't have only native English readers. ^^

Woooooooo! That's it for Chapter 4 and the Prologue of **"Fairy Tail's Orange Flash"**! Next time, we will be starting **Part 1**. I'm so excited! Don't forget to review, your input would help me create a better story and would encourage me to post the chapters faster ~

Now, since the questions have piled and there are some things about the story I want to explain, I have prepared a Q&A session, with two very special guests! I will just say, if I don't answer something, it means I don't want to spoil it in the future and would rather keep the suspense. Don't think I'm ignoring you or anything. Now, let me introduce my special guests, Shikamaru and Charle !~

**Shika: Troublesome..  
>Charle: Hmph!<br>DSP: Oh, come on guys, don't be like that. Our wonderful readers have asked us some questions, it is the least we can do to say thanks for their continuos support.  
>Shika: Sigh.. Fine.<br>Charle: I'll allow it this time, I guess.  
>DSP: There we go! First, I would like to thank all of you wonderful awesome readers and reviewers, for spending time reading my story and adding me to all sorts of lists. Thank you very much for the support and I must say I am very happy you are all enjoying this and are eager to read more. Now, we will start with some general topics and then move onto review responses!~<strong>

**Shika: Ok, I guess we should start with my appearance in this story. Why am I here? It's troublesome enough I have to be in the Elemental Nations, why did you have to add me in Earth Land as well?  
>DSP: Naruto is a Dragon Slayer. ALL Dragon Slayers in my story will get cats, or Exceed. Except for Gajeel, who most of you should know when exactly he gets his. Oh and Cobra. It's a funny story actually, he got a cat as well. Cuberos just ate it, it's how he gained the Aera magic. Coincidently or not, the cat's name was Orochimaru.<br>Charle: But why him, couldn't you have picked someone more worthy for Naruto?  
>Shika: Troublesome woman..<br>DSP: Because Shika is one of my favourite characters from Naruto and I've always thought he and Naruto would make the greatest team. Don't believe me? Go read 'Shadow and Wind: New legends' by Sir-Shun, it's a great story. It's also the place I stole this Q&A format from, with his permission of course. XD  
>Shika: Why not an original cat?<br>DSP: Because I already have enough Original Characters as it is planned for this fic. I'm just getting started in that department. I think I'll get a multiple-personalities disorder in the end. And since Ichiya was an Exceed in Edolas, why not make some of the Naruto characters cats as well. It will be waaay more fun that way.  
>Shika: Are there going to be other cats from the Naruto verse?<br>DSP: Definitely. As I've said, ALL Dragon Slayers (except Cobra) in my story will have a cat, no matter if they are true or artificial. I'm actually curious, which Naruto personalities would you like to see as Exceed? I'm just going to say, expect a Maito Cat ~**

**Charle: Speaking of Dragon Slayers, do you have other original ones planned?  
>DSP: In fact I do. I actually have three more original Dragons. One of them was briefly considered to be Naruto's Dragon, but I decided to keep it for another story, if I chose to write it. It will depend on the progression and pairing of this one actually. But you can expect at least two more Dragon Slayers. I'm not going to reveal their element yet though ~<br>Shika: It might be troublesome to think of them by yourself.. Why not make it a competition?  
>DSP: Hey, that's a great idea! Tell me, what type of Dragons and Dragon Slayers you would like to see in the story? The elements don't matter they can be as broad as 'Metal' or as narrow as 'Hellium'. As long as those Dragon Slayers don't already exist, like the lightening one or fire one, it'll be a good suggestion. Also, it has to be some sort of element, not other living things. So no Plant or Beast Dragon Slayers. You can even pair them with a cat! For example, you could say Laxus with Sasuke or an original Dragon Slayer with a specific Naruto personality. Just post them in your reviews. If I like your ideas and suggestions, I might very well include them !~<strong>

**Charle: Let's move on to names. Many people have probably noticed my name and will wonder why its not Carla.  
>DSP: He-he, actually, I almost wrote you as Charlie.<br>Charle: WHAT?  
>Shika: He-he-he-he.<br>DSP: Ok, here is the deal. I started following Fairy Tail when the series was at the ending of the Galluna island Arc. Yes, it's been that long ~ Let me say, back then the names were quite different. For example, I didn't even know they had named Gérard Jellal in the anime and English manga, until I started this story and read it in the Fairy wikia. That's right, back then he was known as Gérard, written like that. I can never think of him as Jellal and Gérard sounds better, so I decided to keep it like that. Expect other name changes to suit my tastes as well. Like when Naruto used Amzu-Vernier – I know the spell is Arms X Vernier, but he can't really say it like that now, can he? Amzu-Vernier sounded better, so I rolled with it.  
>Charle: Ok, but what about my name? Why Charlie?<br>DSP: Because when you were first introduced, it was as Charlie. In fact, again until I started writing this fic, I haven't even noticed they had changed it in scanlations to Charle and in English manga to Carla. I chose Charle, because it sounded nice. I was really conflicted between it and Charlie.  
>Charle: Why do Dragons have family names in your fic?<br>DSP: I hadn't realized they didn't, until SS91 pointed it out. I actually knew about Grandine and Metalicana, but as I've said, when I started reading the Fairy Tail manga, things were different. On a number of occasions, Igneel was introduced as Igneel Dragonil. Oh yeah, Natsu was Natsu Dragonil, not Natsu Dragneel. The first one sounds better to me, so I'll probably roll with it. Anyway, think about it. Those children were orphans so it only makes sense they have their Dragon's family names. So I decided in my story, all Dragons would have them.  
>Shika: What about the other names? Why was Kyuubi's guild named in Italian?<br>DSP: Well, Nine-tails was going to name it 'Kyu Kitsune'. But Leonard is Italian and he suggested 'Nove Volpi' and the Fox thought it was cool. By the way, I know his name is Kurama. He just hasn't revealed it to anyone yet. Or at least not to Naruto. I love his name btw, I think Kishi-sensei picked an awesome, bad-ass one.  
>Shika: And the names of your Original Characters? Inchiostro Bella-Tela, Papière Blanche, Atramentum..?<br>DSP: Google translate them, that's all I'll say. Yes, expect more names like that, cause I'm otherwise terrible at them. The topic of names is one of my favourites after all. Mashima-sensei actually thinks up really really cool names. I want to be able to do the same ~**

**Shika: All right, last thing before we move onto the review responses. Pairing. Who will Naruto's romantic interest be?  
>DSP: Mwa-ha-ha-ha. That's for me to know and for you to agonize over. I will just say it will NOT be a harem and there's 95% chance it will NOT be with an Original Character.<br>Charle: Jerk. Hmpf!  
>Shika: But earlier you said 'it will depend on the pairing of this one actually'. Does this mean you haven't decided?<br>DSP:... Damn, you're smart Shika. That's right, I'm on a crossroad between three girls, which I won't name. One has a very big chance to be chosen, it's almost certain even. But I first want to see how the story will progress. This will be something that it writes itself. I won't tell you which are the girls, because I want to keep the suspense. You will figure it out yourselves at one point, but until the moment comes I won't say anything. Cause I'm a jerk.  
>Charle: What about any other ones? I hope you won't pair me with Shikamaru.<br>Shika: I hope so too, she's way to troublesome to be around. It's enough we'll be in the same guild.  
>DSP: Hehe, I think I'll keep other pairings a secret as well. But I'm curios, what other ones would you like to see? I can't guarantee I'll add them, as I said, I'm just curios.<br>Shika: All right, that's it. Thank you for reading, I'm going to go watch some clouds now.  
>DSP: Wait, Shika! We still have reviewer responses left.<br>Shika: Troublesome..**

**Charle: I guess I'll start this one time. Thank you, all of you for the great reviews. They keep DSP working hard on this story. If you want him to post chapters faster and keep up the great work, then review.  
>DSP: Charle! Don't extort reviews from the readers. If they want to, they will write one.<br>Charle: Yeah right. That's why you always get so excited when you get one and read it a couple of times.  
>DSP: Shut up! Again, thank you <em>xNamikazeKyuubix, ShadowStar91, narutofan1111, rodz, GuyYouDon'tKnow, chm01, Mzr90, Dragonking20, Tikky Mikk, HitmanReiji, unknown69, haseo014, Zamoskis, anonymous, 7 Winds, reven228, DragFire, grimangel163, GaijinSamurai, Kazuma-144, Wonjis, mlkoolc86, Umbra8191, Emeraldfox5723, DarkSyde24, Altair, Ignisha, Gordaime, crazyboy666, flamenvy963, bakapervert, Cuervo Blanco, mitsuhashi, Raidentensho, Braygen. <em>For the kind words, for the encouragement and for writing. I would also like to thank, again, all the readers that added me to some list. I've checked all of your profiles and I must say, I've had a lot of fun reading some of them. I'm happy I got to know more about you.**

**Charle: Let's get this started – From ShadowStar91, the one that inspired DSP to write this one. He says he is disappointed that you haven't read his story completely. He also says he especially liked Minato and Kushina's talk as well as Grandine's integration at the end of Chapter 2. He just notes that Dragons shouldn't have Family names.  
>DSP: Believe me, mate, I am quite disappointed as well. I'm sure your story is great and I would have loved to read it. I've actually halted reading of all the FT stories I was following, since I started mine. I only read the manga now, because I don't want to accidentally copy something. When I'm done with part 1 though, I'll go back to it and read it! I'm happy you liked Minato and Kushina's scenes, those actually took a lot of research and planning. As for the names, it was your post that made me realize Igneel didn't have a last name. I blame some of the translators for that.<strong>

**Shika: Narutofan1111 says he hopes you can join the very small minority with people with a completed cross-over story.  
>DSP: I hope so too. I actually have most of it thought out and I think it's going to end up being quite long. So our journey has just started. ^^<strong>

**Shika: Next we have Dragonking20. Whoa, he wrote a lot..  
>DSP: And I really did enjoy reading it all! I even read it a couple of times.<br>Charle: He's right you know, it did seem kind of strange, Naruto wasn't as angry as one would expect from a 7 year old.  
>DSP: I agree. Huh.. So strange ~ Oh, I also know about Kurama, as I've said earlier, he just hasn't told his name to anyone yet. At least not on screen. Thank you for pointing it out. ^^<br>Charle: So are we going to be doing missions before we meet Fairy Tail?  
>DSP: Well.. I won't spoil it, because you'll see it next chapter. As for the pairing, I already talked about it earlier. It's going to be a surprise ~<strong>

**Shika: Zamoskis asks if Naruto would learn any other type of magic, except Dragon Slayer?  
>DSP: Well, I think this chapter shows it, he will learn rune magic. Now, in canon there's no such thing, it's a discipline I've created. In short, Rune magic is called every type of magic that uses some sort of writing. For example, Levi's Solid Script, Freed's Dark Ecriture, Reedus' Pict magic, those are all a type of Rune magic. It's pretty obvious they are all connected, since Levi could manipulate Freed's scripts.<strong>

**Charle: Anonymous, the one that posted after Zamoskis, asks what were Sasuke's and the Third Hokage's reactions?  
>DSP: Oh, I have special plans for the Elemental Nations bunch. It will be revealed in time, if I decide to go through with them. Oh, who am I kidding, of course I'll go through with them.<strong>

**Shika: GaijinSamurai expresses his disappointment at Naruto learning Air/Sky magic. He is worried that there aren't enough offensive spells for Naruto. He also hopes Naruto becomes the Ace of the Cait Shelter guild, as well as that you don't squander the story.  
>DSP: Let me tell you mate, I hope I don't squander it as well. I really like the way I've planned things, I only hope you, my wonderful readers, would enjoy it as well. As for Naruto's spells, as you might have noticed, I have thought of some original ones. There will be more as well. This also answers reven228's question too. I'm curious though, are there really that many other fics where Naruto learns Air Magic? 0.o I was quite surprised by that, considering I've only read 4-5 cross-over stories as well.. I also noticed some reviews saying it was always Grandine that thought him as well or that some of the ideas were used.<br>I've mentioned earlier, I actually have some original Dragons and even had prepared a different one for Naruto. But I liked the story with Grandine as his mother and Wendy as his sister more so I picked that one. As for the Ace of Cait Shelter.. Just keep reading, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. **

**Charle: DragFire says he likes the narration and the length of the chapters. He thinks this will be a good story, because of the obvious hard work you've been putting into it.  
>Shika: Yeah, that's true. You have no ideas how troublesome it is for DSP to produce a chapter. He pays a lot of attention to detail and would go on a 2-3 hour research for the smallest of details, like for example, what type of forest animals Naruto should capture and why.<br>DSP: That's right. But I'm not complaining, it's quite fun to write them long and I actually learn a lot of new stuff from the research. I think you will be especially happy with this chapter, since it's a double one. Don't get used to it though, I'll go back to 10k words after this n_~**

**Shika: Umbra8191 says he can't wait for the next one.  
>DSP: This guy! Mate, I loved your profile! I laughed so much at the 37 things to do in an elevator. I have picked a couple to do with some friends next time I go into one. Go check out his profile, it's hilarious! I also liked the labels. Some were quite funny.<strong>

**Charle: Darksyde24 is happy that he has finally found a N/FT story worth reading. He also pointed out some mistakes in chapter 3.  
>DSP: You humble me, sir. I am so happy you think this highly of my story. I hope you'll keep enjoying it. As for the mistakes, I'm really embarrassed by those. In truth, I had chapter 3 prepared in advance, but as I said, I rewrote it. But it was so long, I actually wrote chapter 3 and 4 at the same time. I pulled 2 all-nighters in a roll, with barely getting 8 hours of sleep for two days total and in the end I was so tired, I just posted it, after checking chapter 3 just once. I read it as a readerwriter rather than an editor, so sorry about that. After I post this chapter, I'll go back and correct all the mistakes, because I know how annoying it is to read a story with them. Incidentally, I also rewrote chapter 4 and it has enough for 2 chapters as well. ^^ Thanks for pointing out the mistakes ~**

**Shika: Altair and Mzr90 would like to know what are Kyuubi's plans for Earth Land.  
>DSP: They are quite elaborate and will be revealed in time. Yes, I'll be keeping the suspense. Yes, I'm a jerk. ^^'<strong>

**Charle: mlkoolc86 expresses his happiness at the way Gérard's appears.  
>DSP: You know, I had initially thought of him showing up and saving Wendy from falling from a cliff or in some sort of pit-hole. Then I realized it was stupid and too troublesome to write and just had him appear like that. There was some suspense in it too (it wouldn't be me otherwise) so I'm happy about it. I'm glad you liked it as well.<br>Shika: You have to pay me for using my word.  
>DSP: What? But.. I.. Sigh. Fine, what do you want?<br>Shika: I get to sleep more next chapter.  
>Charle: Ignisha asks if Naruto will recapture the Kyuubi?<br>DSP: It depends on the Kyuubi, if Naruto will try.**

**Shika: crazyboy666 wonders how a 3 year old Wendy knew the word approaching.  
>DSP: I actually called my Mom when I saw your question and asked her if my little sister knew it when she was three. It turns out she did. You'd be surprised how much some 3 year olds know to speak. My sister doesn't shut up. At all. And yes, I'm talking about both of them. ^^<strong>

**Charle: flamenvy96 wants to know if Naruto got infused with a sky lacryma?  
>DSP: No. He received his magical power from Grandine's life force. In a way, Grandine put a part of herself in him, so she really is like his Mom. Also, I don't think lacryma would work like that for people without natural magical energy. Otherwise, Mistgun would have done it long ago and would have had magical power.<strong>

**Shika: bakapervert says some of the sappy bits of the story are too troublesome.  
>DSP: He-he-he. It's my style. I like emotions and I want my characters to be full of emotion and to constantly show it, no matter if it's sad, happy, angry, etc. Emotions are probably one of my favourite thing in the world, because they make me feel alive. Sometimes it's hard for me to experience them, so I try to do it by reading or watching movies or in this case writing. So I should warn, there will be much more emotion to come in my characters. They'd be boring otherwise.<strong>

**Charle: Cuervo Blanco asked how does the Sky Dragon's Spiralling Orb look like exactly?  
>DSP: He-he, sorry, it means I didn't describe it pretty well. Just imagine a regular Rasengan, but transparent, with spiralling wind instead of chakra. I'm glad I was able to get such an emotion out of you, even though it was a sad one. As I said, emotions are important to me and as long as I create a strong one, I'm happy. I just hope I'll be able to create happy emotions this strong. As for not reviewing, don't worry about it, at least you found the time to post one eventually! College is important after all, I know how it can be. n_~<strong>

**Shika: mitsuhashi says it's too troublesome how you go into too much detail at times.  
>DSP: For me, one of the hardest part of writing is the descriptions. I've had troubles with it before I even started this story. They always take me a lot of time and I always go over them several times. This story I'm writing right now, I want it to feel like a book. So I have to imagine that the people that are reading it have never heard of Naruto or Fairy Tail. I also need to make it so everything is described properly. In time, when I get into the swing of things, I will be able to make descriptions with less words that would be lighter. Until then, please be patient with me.<br>Charle: I also want to note when DSP goes into such great detail, about the motives even, it means it is important. As you might have noticed, all Dragon Slayers have something on their clothing that distinguishes them as one. Natsu has a scaly scarf, Gajeel has one wing shoulder-guard and Wendy has wing designs in her clothing. Naruto had wing motives as well and Inchiostro had scales on her tank-top. So look out for those signs, you might spot a Dragon Slayer ~**

**DSP: From The Real World And Back says... *blinks* He uh..  
>Charle: Hmpf, he's just a troll.<br>Shika: Troublesome troll..  
>DSP: Uhm.. Thanks for the review number.. I guess?..<strong>

**DSP: Well, this concludes our Q&A session! I hope you enjoyed our time together.  
>Charle: Finally.<br>Shika: I'm going to go out and watch some clouds..  
>Charle: Slouch!<br>Shika: Troublesome woman..**

**DSP: Thank you everyone for your constant support. Next chapter, we will be starting Part 1. I am quite excited about it. Please keep reading and reviewing, your continuos support makes me work harder and faster. ~**

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	5. Ch 5 The three Caits and the Fairy Queen

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Hello, wonderful readers! Before we begin with this Chapter, I'd like to say a couple of quick things.

First, Thank you all for the amazing support! I don't think I'll never be able to say this enough with awesome readers like you, so the best I can do is keep writing and hoping you would enjoy it. I still can't believe I'm added so much to lists, including the author ones. I am very happy by the huge trust you are placing in me, **Demonxkiller2, inuboy86, Final Black Getsuga, Raven Marcus, Wizardmon0073, Dmdarts, Junky** and **justbin**.

Second, I would like to use some of the famous author **P. G.** **Wodehouse**'s words (read some of his stuff, he's amazing), to dedicate this Chapter to a special someone. I would also like to note, that this was done yesterday, but there is some kind of problem with FF and I can't actually upload the file. So I had to get creative and pasted the whole Chapter over one of the old ones. Just so I can upload it faster for you, my wonderful readers. I hadn't even sent it to my amazing beta because of that, so sorry for any mistakes. I'll come back and make corrections after he's done. ^^

Third, check out the **Author's Ramblings **at the end, I think you'll enjoy them quite a bit. I also have another Q&A session with another special guest. I will be talking about the Dragon Slayers and answering some of my amazing reviewers (posting this when I have 91!) as well as asking your opinions on stuffz.

Finally, I suggest a special ambiance for this Chapter. Read it when it's night, alone in a dark room with the only light coming from a candle. Also, try to imagine yourself being inside the story to such a degree, that you can even hear the noises. And now, here is Part 1 of **'Fairy Tail's Orange Flash'**. Enjoy !~

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_**To my beautiful older sister, E. Without her constant support, this Chapter would have been finished two times faster. **_**S2**

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**Part 1**

**Calm before the Storm**

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Chapter 5: The three Caits and the Fairy Queen

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Erza Scarlet was very much displeased. In fact, her displeasure had started bordering annoyance, ever since she boarded the train to Nebula town. Her day had not started well. First, she had missed the train from Magnolia, because of one of Natsu and Gray's regular friendly bouts. Sometimes she couldn't understand how two best friends could fight so much, but then again she and Mira used to fight all the time in the past and now they were quite close.

Normally one of the boys' little fights wouldn't have taken her a lot of time to deal with. She would just scold them a bit and they would immediately make up. This time was different though, because the whole guild had gotten involved to the point of a full-blown brawl. What was worse, they had ignored her words of reason and since she was already running a bit late, she had no choice, but to get serious. In retrospect, Erza had realized that it might have been hard to listen to someone's pleas for order while you were being hit by a chair. Still, that was no excuse for her guild-mates' improper behaviour, especially since it was destroying valuable guild property. After she was done administering punishment, she had taken off for the train station. Of course there was a little extra for Natsu, for having the audacity to say she did more damage to the guild than everyone else combined.

Sometimes Erza wondered, if her guild knew of all the trouble they put her through. The assignment she had accepted would take her quite some time to complete. Not because it was hard, rather it would take her a long time to reach the town it was at and then come back. Since it was going to be a rather lengthy journey with two days spent on a train, she had wanted to leave early to get a sleeping compartment.

However, because of her delay at the guild, she had missed the train from Magnolia to Onibas. She would need to take a train from there to Nebula, where her assignment lay. If she were to wait for the next train to Onibas, she would have missed the one to Nebula and since it was a long distance, there was only one train per day. So Erza had been forced to rent a Magical Four-Wheeled Vehicle and drive it at full speed, which had been quite taxing. After all, it required the driver's magical energy to run and even though Erza had vast quantities of magical power, befitting a S-class mage of her stature, the distance to Onibas was long and when she did finally reach the town's train station, she had become a bit winded.

Unfortunately, her bad streak hadn't ended there. Even though she would have been able to catch the train to Nebula, there were no more free single sleeping compartments or even double ones. So Erza had to settle for a first class cabin.

And here she was now. Looking for an empty one, since she wasn't really keen on the idea of sharing during the night with a complete stranger. It wasn't that she was afraid someone might try something while she was sleeping. More so, it would be quite annoying to explain the disappearance of such individual and the blood splatter all over the cabin were not related in the slightest.

Alas, her efforts to find a solitary compartment would be in vain. Erza could not believe there were so many people travelling on this train. In fact, this was her first time with a completely packed one. Then again, considering there was only one each day, it shouldn't be that surprising. Nevertheless, if it turned out the first class cabins were actually full as well, even though she had paid for one, there would be a very unhappy staff on this train.

With a sigh, she reached the final compartment, only to be pleasantly surprised that there was space in it. Her joy was short-lived though, since she noticed the other occupant was from the male gender and apparently had two cats with him.

The young man, she supposed, was lying down on the left seats and was seemingly sleeping. Erza wasn't sure if he indeed was a young man, since his face was covered by an orange book and she could only see he had spiky golden hair. The two cats on the other hand looked quite similar to Happy, Natsu's partner. A black one was sleeping on the blond's stomach, while a white one was sitting on the other side holding a pencil and looking quite absorbed in writing something in some kind of notepad.

Erza let out another sigh. Well, this shouldn't be that bad really. The whole scene looked quite serene compared to her rowdy guild. After all the annoying things that happened today, she definitely needed serene right now. She hoped the young man would be a gentleman and would not try anything weird during the night. For his own good.

Putting on a serious expression, Erza opened the door to the cabin, earning the attention of the only non-sleeping occupant in it. The white cat immediately looked her over and with a strange smile and a glint in its eyes, that made the girl a bit uneasy, said "Why, hello there."

"Hello." Erza greeted, as she entered the compartment and closed the door behind her. She wasn't actually that surprised that the cat was able to speak. That only reaffirmed her initial suspicions, that it was similar to Natsu's partner.

The cat kept smiling. "Oh please, take a seat." it said, patting the space right next to it with its left paw. Erza studied it for a moment and sat at a respectful distance, without saying anything, and just placed her handbag next to her. That was the beauty of the first class compartments. Even though they weren't sleeping ones, the seating was so large it could actually be considered as two big couches on opposite ends, with enough space to actually sleep on them, like the blond was currently doing.

Brief silence fell, before it was interrupted by the white feline, which apparently had other plans, that did not include being quiet and minding its own business. It was slowly approaching Erza, while saying "So.. What does a beautiful lady like you doing travelling alone on such a long and tedious trip? Perhaps some company would make it less boring?" it finished, with a suggestive smile.

Erza turned to the creepy cat and looked it over. It had white fur with a green belly and chest. The fur around his head had a spiky look, giving the impression the cat actually had a mane. There were two red lines running down its cheeks, that started from its black eyes and Erza also noticed it had a wart on the right side of its nose. What surprised her more was the clothing actually. The cat was wearing a long red coat with two yellow circles at its shoulders and shockingly, two small, red, wooden geta sandals on its feet.

Apparently, the cat had continued inching its way towards her while she was looking over its appearance. So Erza settled for giving it one of her Looks. Which to her pleasure immediately took effect. The cat stopped its advance and an uneasy expression replaced its grin. It backed up a bit.

"On the other hand, maybe a respectful lady like you would prefer some peace and quiet.."

Erza said nothing and continued fixing it with her eyes.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to go sit at the windowsill and continue writing."

Erza repeated herself.

The cat chuckled nervously, while backing up. Normally, he would be all over such a beautiful girl, but the look she was giving him really put him on edge. He didn't risk turning his back completely either and just picked his notepad and sat at the window.

Satisfied with the cat's decision, Erza suddenly felt she was being watched by someone else. She turned towards the sleeping blond and noticed the black cat had opened one of its brown eyes and was focusing on her. They engaged in a staring contest, which lasted quite a bit. In the end, the feline just closed its eye, muttering something Erza wasn't able to catch, and went back to sleep.

Satisfied, the girl leaned in her seat. Those two cats were definitely weird, especially the white one, but then she remembered Happy had his quirks as well. She briefly wondered if the one they were travelling with was some kind of weirdo or had annoying quirks as well. She really hoped for at least a peaceful journey before a hard mission.

Having nothing better to do at the moment, she decided to study the blond. He was a tall, young man, who wore a black tracksuit jacket with two dark green bands tied right above the elbows. He had white scaly fingerless gloves on his hands, which somewhat reminded her of Natsu's scarf, and a pair of white baggy pants with large pockets, from where Erza could see what looked like orange handles with rings at the ends sticking out. The leggings went into a pair of black open-tipped sandals. But the most noticeable piece of his attire was the long orange cloak. It had black wing motives at the edges as well as at the hem of the short sleeves. At the chest, Erza noticed, the coat didn't have a zipper or buttons, but instead was held together by a red string.

Moving further up, she still couldn't see the young man's face, because of the orange book, but this time she noticed he had an orange headband tied over his forehead, with a metal plate that had a symbol etched on it. She couldn't make out its entirety, since blond locks were covering some parts of it.

He must really be fond of the orange colour, Erza mused as her gaze fell back to his face. She wondered what it looked like under that book.. Which she realized was from the Icha Icha series. Her eyes narrowed a bit at that.

That series consisted of books filled with inappropriate and at times very perverted scenes. Levy had lent her all of them in the past and although she would never admit it to the world, Erza actually enjoyed reading them, even though the story was a bit dry. That was exactly the point though. While she didn't mind what people read in private, displaying such a book in public could hardly be considered appropriate behaviour. She would have words with the blond, when he woke up.

Speaking of said blond, Erza realized something had changed, while she was busy with her inner thoughts. The book had fallen down a bit, to reveal a pair of bright cerulean eyes, which were looking into her own with curiosity. That is when Erza realized she had been absentmindedly staring into them for a while now. Startled, she averted her gaze which made her silently curse. Breaking off from a staring contest usually meant you were weak-willed, even if it was a coincidental one. And Erza Scarlet was certainly not weak.

She put on a serious look and sought the blond's eyes again, only to find out he had lifted himself and was now sitting in front of her, giving her a huge grin. "Hey! How are you doing?" the young man waved at her, not letting go of his bright smile. Now after seeing his face, she could tell he was a young man, probably around her age. What caught her attention even more were what looked like three whisker marks on each cheek, right bellow his beautiful cerulean orbs.

Before Erza could mouth off a response, the black cat, that was now on the blond's lap spoke. "Naruto! Watch it, I almost fell." The young man, now identified as Naruto looked down. "Oh, sorry about that, Shika. Here, let me put you on the seat." and he picked up the feline and placed it next to him, where it closed its eyes after muttering something again.

"Naruto, you're finally awake!" This time it was his other companion that spoke. "So, what did you think of my book? Did you like it?"

The blond turned towards it. "Eh.. It was kind of boring. I mean, sure the scenes were Ok, but the story made me sleepy. You can't just put sex scene after sex scene, after a while I got tired of it. It needs more filling, more excitement."

The cat looked away "Hmpf, someone like you can't understand the finer points of my art."

Naruto just rolled his eyes "Fine, if you don't believe me, let's ask someone else." He turned towards Erza. "Excuse me, miss, have you read this before?" he lifted the book to show her the cover.

Caught completely off-guard, Erza's eyes widened and her jaw fell slightly. She did her best not to blush, but to no avail.

"She has." The white cat answered for her, giving a knowing perverted grin.

"Good!" Naruto exclaimed, apparently oblivious to Erza's embarrassment. "So what did you think of it? Did you like the story?"

The girl quickly composed herself and before any conscious thought could register, she answered "Well, I have to agree, the story was dry and boring at times." And then her brain processed what she had just said, making her slap her hand over her mouth. What was she doing! How could she discuss such a perverted book, with strangers she hadn't met for more than five minutes even! That was certainly not proper behaviour for someone like her. There was something about the blond.. How did he menage to pull her in like that?

Unaware of the inner battle going in Erza's mind, Naruto continued "See? I told you. Sure, you're selling a lot of them now, but if you continue with the same things, it will get boring pretty soon and only perverts would keep buying it. If you focus on the story though, I think your readership would even increase."

"You make it sound like it's easy. How can I make it more interesting?"

"Why not make it an adventure story? Everyone likes battles. Don't you dare use me as inspiration again though!"

The cat just huffed and started writing again, muttering "Mistgun it is.." Naruto turned towards her and apparently finally realized it wasn't really polite to ask a complete stranger, a beautiful girl at that, about her opinion on a perverted book. It could be considered very weird and creepy actually. He scratched the back of his head, while giving her a nervous smile.

"He-he.. Sorry about that, I have a tendency to get a little over-excited about things sometimes" The black cat known as Shika snorted at his words, without even opening an eye. The blond either didn't hear it or decided to outright ignore it, since he continued. "It wasn't very appropriate and I didn't mean to make you uneasy, especially since we just met and aren't even friends yet."

Erza nodded and gave him a serious look "You are right, it was inappropriate to start discussing something like that, considering I don't even know who you are."

"Oh, than let me introduce myself!" The nervous smile was immediately replaced by an excited one. "My name is Naruto Marvell, I am 18 years old and my birthday is on the 10th of October. My likes are ramen**[1]**, my family and my guild. My dislikes are waiting for the time it takes to prepare ramen, Dark Guilds and Nove Volpi. My hobbies are training, doing tough assignments and spending time with my family. My dreams for the future are to find my mother, Sky Dragon Grandine, as well as a certain Demon."

Erza had been quite shocked since the beginning of his introduction. That was Naruto Marvell?

"Your guild? Which one is it?" she asked him, looking him directly in the eyes. The blond's smile widened and he pointed at his forehead.

"Cait Shelter!"

And indeed, this time Erza was able to recognize the symbol etched on the metal plate. It was a sitting cat, with an open left eye. Behind it, its tail was bent in a half circle, joining in the middle with another one, which represented a crescent moon. The Guild Mark of Cait Shelter, one of the two most popular independent guilds in the Fiore kingdom. And in front of her sat none other than its most well known member – Cait Shelter's Orange Flash.

Judging by his introduction, the rumours about him were true. He was probably one of the Sky Dragon Slayers. 'Cait Shelter's Three Dragons' or 'Cait Shelter's Three Marvels' is what they were called. Nothing was known about the other two though. In fact, very little was known about the mysterious guild in general. From what she had heard, Erza educed at least some of the rumours were true.

Like the one about the rivalry with the other big independent guild, Nove Volpi, which was quite mysterious in its own right. In fact, so little was know about either guild, that many people thought they were connected and one was formed to oppose the other. There were even many rumours of them clashing against each other in landscape changing battles, although the last part seemed a bit far-fetched to Erza.

Now she realized, that may have been the whole point. Considering neither guild was actually affiliated with the Magic Council, they would prefer to be left alone in their endeavours. What better way, than to rely on some crazy rumours, that could only increase their notoriety and clearly say not to mess with them. In fact, she wouldn't be surprised the guilds themselves were behind some of them.

Still, there were apparently truths behind them, even if the details were exaggerated. In fact, if Cait Shelter really had three Dragon Slayers**, **then the story about Nove Volpi having three as well and the intense rivalry between the two guilds was most likely true. She would need to inform Natsu about it. He was after all a Dragon Slayer as well and he was also looking for a Dragon. He would certainly be happy to learn there were others like him, searching for their lost parent.

In fact, maybe she should try to learn more about the blond Dragon Slayer in front of her, as well as his elusive guild. First, she would need to find out what its affiliations were. Even if they didn't oppose the Magic Council openly, Cait Shelter could still be breaking the law covertly. After all, no one would know. Now that she thought about it, it was her duty as a member of a Light guild to learn more about them.

There were many rumours about their actions as well actually. Like them wiping out Dark Guilds, preventing Demonic rituals, retrieving missing or kidnapped people.. The people that were directly helped never described them in detail though. Just that they were forever indebted to Cait Shelter.

During the whole time she was thinking these things, Naruto was just looking at the girl, that had started staring at him, with the same far-away look he saw when he woke up. Maybe it was a habit of hers? Well, since the conversation was put on pause for now, the blond decided it was his turn to look over the beauty in front of him.

Turning his gaze from her brown eyes, he proceeded in taking in her whole image. The girl in front of him practically radiated confidence, strong will and immense power. She definitely was one of the most beautiful young women he had come across of. She had long, straight scarlet hair, a bit of which fell over her right eye, covering it slightly. He could see an earring with the shape of a miniature spearhead hanging from her left ear.

Her attire consisted of a simple metal breastplate with a high armoured collar. It was composed of several plates, enlarging in correspondence with the girl's chest and was decorated on the left side with the Heart Kreuz company mark – a cross, with an edge pointing downwards having the shape of a heart and donning the brand's name over the cross' right edge. The armour was completed with shoulder-guards, made from four metal plates each and a waist-guard composed of several leaf-shaped plates, held up by a simple, brown, leather belt.

Underneath it, the scarlet beauty wore a long-sleeved ruffled silver blouse or at least that was Naruto's guess, judging from the sleeves. His eyes continued going down her waist onto a blue pelted short skirt and a pair of slender legs coming out from underneath it. Her outfit was completed with black knee-high leather boots.

Only one coherent thought was in Naruto's mind as his eyes hastily moved upwards towards her face. Whoa.. He was hoping she hadn't been talking during the time he was looking over her beautiful body, since he didn't want to ruin the first impression he had made even further. There was only so much a man was allowed, before he finds himself thrown out of a train, while it was still moving. To Naruto's relief it seemed like the deucedly pretty girl was still lost in her thoughts. Not trusting his eyes not to dart over her again, while she was still in her daze, the blond decided it would be best if he brought her out of it. He looked at his black companion and poked him.

"Hey, Shika, wake up. It's not polite to keep a lady waiting, it's your turn to introduce yourself." That seemed to snap the redhead, who now turned her gaze towards the cat. It opened its eyes, giving her a disinterested look, before it sighed.

"But Naruto, she looks troublesome." It took Erza a couple of seconds to register what the cat's final words were, before she sent a glare towards its way. "What!"

The soon to be mortally wounded feline maintained its bored expression, which was an achievement in itself that only served to make Erza even angrier, before it looked towards Naruto, saying "See?"

"Oh come on, Shika, you're giving her a horrible impression. Don't be like that, we'll be spending the next two days with her. The least we can do is be friendly and polite to a lady." Naruto than turned to her. "Sorry about him, he doesn't really have any ill thoughts. He's just annoyed I woke him up and he can't keep dreaming about clouds."

Shika gave Naruto a look that had a desire for a retort behind it, but the cat decided it was too much trouble so he lazily stood up. Erza for her part calmed down a bit thanks to Naruto's apology and realized that most likely all talking cats had obnoxious quirks about them. She took in the opportunity to study the black one before he made his introduction.

He had brown narrow eyes and the fur around his ears had a strange shape, giving the appearance of pineapple leaves. She also noticed he had piercing on them, in the form of a pair of small round earrings. His belly and chest were forest-green and he had the same headband as Naruto, except this one was tied over his shoulder with the metal plate being at his front and the cloth was coloured in grey. Erza could also see the same orange handle with the metal ring sticking from behind his back.

"My name is Shikamaru or Shika for short. I am 6 years old and my birthday is on the 7th of July. I like sleeping, clouds and being generally lazy. I dislike troublesome situations, troublesome people, troublesome Exceed and especially troublesome women." The cat's gaze seemed to linger a bit on her after the last part, which gave Erza the impression he was making a pointed comment at her. He looked at the ceiling and continued "My hobbies are taking naps and watching clouds. My dreams of the future are to help the guild out with their things and merry a regular Exceed, who isn't too ugly or too pretty and have two children, first a girl, then a boy. Retire after my daughter gets married and my son successfully joins the guild and spend the rest of my life playing chess, shōgi**[4]** or Gō**[5]**. Then die of old age, before my wife."

Erza blinked at the cat. That was one very specific dream. There was a question that was bugging her though "Exceed?"

Shika just nodded "Yeah, that's the name of my kind. You actually don't seem all that surprised at seeing a talking cat."

Erza waved her hand "Our world is filled with strange magical creatures. Besides, I have a guild-mate who I think is also an Exceed."

"Oh, so you are from a mage guild, miss.. uh.. Actually I think it's your turn to introduce yourself now" the blond mage chuckled sheepishly.

Erza smiled slightly "You are right, after all you two did properly introduce yourselves, quite extensively at that. I guess I should follow your example. My name is Erza Scarlet and I am 19 years old. My likes are weapons and armours. My dislikes are any type of evilness, Dark mages and Dark guilds. I also dislike people that have improper conduct and behaviour." Her eyes darted at the orange book that was now next to the blond and then over to the white cat, before returning to Naruto's, prompting a small gulp from the young man. "My hobby is enforcing the rules and my dream for the future is to turn Fairy Tail into a proper and respectful guild, whose members aren't just a bunch of savages eager to rush into a fight." The last part was said with a clear edge in her voice, as she remembered the day's earlier events.

"Wait.. Fairy Tail.. You mean you are Erza the Titania, the strongest female mage of Fairy Tail!" Naruto exclaimed, while looking at her with wide eyes.

"Well," Erza smiled as she closed her eyes and ran a hand through her hair "I'm not that confident in myself. I think the title of strongest woman of Fairy Tail should go to Morgana."

Naruto cocked his head slightly to the right with a confused expression on his face. "Morgana? Who is she? I don't think I've heard of her."

"Morgana le Fay" Erza nodded and explained "She is an S-class mage in my guild. I myself haven't seen her that much and when I have, she seemed a bit detached, but was still very kind towards us. Master said she is a really powerful mage and loves the guild a lot, but became kind of reclusive after some sort of accident. That is why she doesn't show up that much and is not very well-known in the magic circles anymore."

"Have you tried fighting with her? If you did that, you would be able to tell which one of you is stronger."

Erza just looked at the blond. That was something that Natsu would have probably said. Were all Dragon Slayers alike? "She is a guild-mate, one that has been in the guild for much longer than me and I have rarely seen her get mad. I don't know how you act in your guild, but I can't just start a fight with her."

"No, no, it's not what I meant." Naruto motioned with his arms defensively "Of course, you are guild-mates, you can't fight with each other. I was talking about a spar. Sure, it's not like a real battle, but it should still give you some idea of your level. Besides, you might even improve from it."

Erza nodded. His reasoning seemed to be correct "I'm sorry, I'm just used to everyone fighting in the guild all the time, which isn't really proper behaviour between guild-mates."

"Sounds like they are giving you a hard time." Naruto chuckled.

"That's right!" Erza scowled "Even though they are best friends, Natsu and Gray fight all the time for no reason. Not to mention Natsu would set things on fire and wreak havoc everywhere he goes, while Gray keeps going around half-naked. And let's not forget Cana, who even though is a young lady consumes vast amounts of alcohol in the most degenerate of manners. Don't even get me started on.." the scarlet beauty was suddenly interrupted by Naruto's laugh. She turned her scowl towards him, but the blond said.

"If you worry so much about them, it means you really care."

Erza's expression softened and she let out a small smile. "Yeah.. They are my guild-mates."

Naruto just nodded "Yeah, I know how it is. I have two troublesome mates right here" he pointed at the two Exceed, which prompted a "Hey!" from the white one and a snort from the black one.

"You are one to talk, Naruto. Who always gets a 'little over-excited' and sticks his nose and meddles in other people's business? I don't know how you can use my word, when you're practically a magnet for such situations and people." It was amazing how the quotation marks could actually be heard in Shika's irritated rant. Naruto just chuckled, while scratching the back of his head at the Exceed's retort. Erza on the other hand had something else on her mind. "Come to think of it, you never introduced yourself." she turned to the white cat, who immediately grinned.

Ignoring Naruto and Shika's groan, the Exceed stood on his right leg and started jumping, with his geta sandal letting out a clack with each jump. His little performance ended with a pose, where he had his arm extended in front of him, with the palm pointing at Erza. "I am the great cat-sage, Jiraiya! Author of the Icha Icha series and a pervert second to none! My birthday is on the 11th of November and my likes are beautiful women especially if they have huge breasts.." Here the creepy cat was cut off by Naruto's hand, who looked apologetically at the redhead.

"Sorry about him. All you need to know is his name is Jiraiya and that he's a super pervert, who might try to peek on you while you're in the bath. Don't worry, I promise he won't give you any trouble during the night." His nervous smile faltered when it met Erza's stern look.

"I am quite surprised the author of the Icha Icha series is actually a cat." Her gaze hardened as she looked the blond directly in the eyes. "And you were reading it in public, which I must say is quite inappropriate and will give the wrong impression to people. Is your guild filled with ill-mannered perverts? Should I be worried during the night?"

"No! Of course not!" Naruto lifted his hands in defence. "I would never do something like that to a lady like yourself! And Jiraiya is the only pervert.. Well, Master as well, but all old men are perverts." He smiled slightly, which made Erza nod, since she remembered her Master's own antics. "Besides" the blond continued "I was only reading it since our livelihood kind of depends on the sales." The redhead lifted a confused eyebrow at that.

Naruto sighed and leaned in his seat. "You look like a perspicacious**[6]** lady, so you probably know Cait Shelter is an independent guild, right?" After receiving a nod from Erza, the blond continued "Because of that, we don't really receive official assignments. So as a guild, we don't have a steady income. Of course, the Magic Council lets us do jobs for them from time to time, but those are usually ones that are very dangerous or might even be S-class, so they take time to complete. And a big portion of the reward would usually cover the costs of our expenses during the length of the mission. My equipment is actually quite pricey."

"And the assignments we take on, that aren't from the Council, we usually don't get paid for. Sometimes people would have troubles with Demons, Monsters or a Dark Guild, but wouldn't have enough funds to properly ask for help. And since our guild is on the look-out for things like that, because of some different.. reasons, we find out about them. They try to pay us afterwards, but it doesn't really feel right to take the little they have. So we just settle for favours and things like that. At least there are a lot of vacation spots we have available to us." The blond chuckled. Erza was quite appalled by what she was hearing. If such a guild existed, then how come it wasn't considered a Light one?

"Well, we do go on an occasional treasure hunt and take all the riches from the Dark Guilds we bring down. We return some of it to the people they were stolen from though. But in the end, we are still able to manage quite well." Suddenly, Naruto's expression became serious.

"Recently, things have started stirring though. The Dark Guilds have become more active and for some reason there are a lot more Demon and Monster sightings in Fiore. We don't know the causes behind all that, but we haven't had the opportunity to take a paid assignment.. And the Council doesn't look like it has any, since all the Light guilds are probably taking them. The mage world has become quite active.." The last sentence the blond said with a far-away look directed at the window while he moved his arms behind his head. In the brief silence that fell, Erza thought about what she had just heard.

It was true, the Balam alliance had started increasing in volume and constantly pulled more and more Dark Guilds in it. It was quickly becoming the leading force in the underworld. And now she realized the assignments about Demons, Monsters and other Magical creatures have been increasing. She had been too busy with completing jobs and keeping the guild in check to properly notice the bigger picture. Did Master know about it as well? Erza resolved herself she would speak with him the moment she returned from this mission.

The eery silence was surprisingly broken by Shika. The cat had sat at the window with his back turned towards them and was looking at the now darkening sky. Now, Erza was able to notice that there were several runes inscribed over the orange handle, which was actually attached to a three-pronged kunai. Her eyes quickly darted over to Naruto's pockets and she noticed the handles there had runes as well.

"That's what we are doing right now. We recently learned that there was increased Demon activity at Nebula town and there were even some disappearances reported as well. There's actually a chance a Demon summoner is working in the area and the town hasn't put out a request for help from a Guild or the Council. Since it can become quite dangerous, we decided we should look into it.. Even though it's really troublesome." Shika explained with a slightly irritated tone in his voice. It was clear the Exceed would have preferred being somewhere else, doing generally lazy things.

Erza frowned and reached for her purse "Actually" she took out a flyer "They did post an assignment request. It is an S-class one and I officially took it today" she finished, as she handed it over to the blond.

Naruto immediately took it and looked it over. "That's strange.. I wonder what made them change their mind. And.. the request seems a bit off."

"What do you mean?" Erza lifted an eyebrow.

"Well, it asks for help in disposing of _a_ Demon. But from what we've heard, they actually have problems with multiple Demons.. Hm" The blond placed his hand on his chin and continued looking over the assignment.

"Well, that's just great." Jiraiya's annoyed voice was heard "We travelled all this way for nothing. They already got a mage for the job."

"I for one don't mind letting someone else do the dirty work for a change." Shika leaned on the window "The whole thing looked too troublesome anyway, we were never sure what exactly we were getting into.. As usual." But then he noticed Naruto's expression "Oh, no.."

"Hey, I have an idea!" the blond exclaimed. "How about we accompany you and help you out?" Erza frowned a bit at him, but the young man continued with a smile "I'm sure someone as powerful as you won't really need it, but we are already on our way there anyway and we do have a lot of experience with dealing with Demons and summoners. Plus the whole assignment looks a bit suspicious, so some back-up can never really hurt, if things get ugly. Of course, since you are the one that took the official request, you can keep the whole reward, it's not really that big of an issue with us." He handed the flyer back to her. "So, partners?"

Erza took the flyer and looked Naruto in the eyes. She didn't think she would need help, but he was right, anything could happen. Plus, this would be a good opportunity to witness first-hand Cait Shelter's ability and determine conclusively the type of guild they were. And considering all the rumours about him, the blond should be able to handle himself if things went haywire. She could feel he was quite strong as well. It was decided then.

The redhead smiled and offered her hand "Partners. I'm not all that confident either and you seem to already know some things about the place. It would be irresponsible of me to deny your offer for assistance." Naruto just returned a bright grin and took her hand in his own. "Great!"

Shika just sighed, muttering what Erza now considered his favourite word, while Jiraiya grinned mischievously.

"He-he" the white cat chuckled "Gorgeous and modest, you definitely are the full package. I think I might be in love." Before Erza could respond, Naruto let out a groan.

"Come on, Jiraiya. Can you please stop hitting on all the beautiful girls we meet? And you wonder why Mistgun 'accidentally' fails to inform you when he's taking on missions and leaves you in the guild."

Even though she was annoyed at the cat, Erza still smiled at the blond's words. Apparently Cait Shelter members had the knack for putting quotation marks on their words whilst just speaking. A yawn was heard from Shika, before the black Exceed spoke. "Well, it's getting pretty late. How about we go get some dinner and go to sleep?"

Everyone seemed to agree with his proposition and the group headed to the restaurant car.

**!~¡**

Dinner had been quite enjoyable. Naruto, Shika and Jiraiya had spent it squabbling and exchanging constant banter. Something Erza had found quite amusing actually, which was surprising, since her guild would constantly give her grief with such inner fighting. In fact, the redhead realized that was exactly the reason. The atmosphere the three Caits, as she had began calling them, especially since Naruto had those whisker marks, had created made her feel at home. It was even better, since their exchanges didn't have real menace behind them and the trio didn't end up fighting and wrecking the whole train in the process.

Then there were their other quirks as well. She couldn't believe someone could harbour such love for a dish like ramen, but Naruto's explanation on how it was a dish of the Gods, that existed in all universes and seeing him order three bowls had actually made her curious about it. She had to admit, it had not been a bad choice after all.

Shika had been quite excited for his 'five fish surprise' dish as well, but had actually managed to fall asleep, while waiting for it. As for Jiraiya, he had spent the evening getting drunk on sake and fooling around with the waitresses. Erza had no idea how he was able to accomplish it, but the girls had actually found him quite cute and even liked his devilish side. They would let him rub around their legs, not minding they actually wore skirts, and would even pick him up at times and squeeze him tightly into their chests. She briefly considered he used some kind of spell, but after a quick check, she realized there was nothing of the sorts. He really was the living embodiment of a tomcat.

Erza's favourite part of the evening was the desserts. There were so many kinds of cakes, she had a really hard time deciding which four to pick. In the end, Naruto had just proposed they ordered all of them and share.

Her least favourite part though was when the time came to pay the bill. She wasn't worried about the amount she would have to pay, until she discovered she had forgotten her purse in their cabin. The redhead had immediately gotten up to retrieve it, but the blond had just said she'd pay for the next dinner. Even though she was quite embarrassed by her blunder and had even asked to be punished for it, she still didn't miss the evil snicker from the two Exceed.

Currently, she was walking behind Naruto, who was dragging a weeping Jiraiya by his tail. Erza had noticed during the night, that he had the same metal plate with the Cait Shelter mark sewn on the back of his red coat. "Oh, please, Naruto!" whined the cat, while it continued leaving scratch marks on the floor. "The waitresses said they were going to have a slumber party and they even invited me! I promise, I wouldn't even need to sneak it! Come on, it would help me with my next book, we'd get a lot of sales."

"No" the young man was explicit. "I don't want to have to heal you again, after another one of your little adventures."

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease!" Jiraiya just kept on begging.

"Naruto, maybe it's not such a bad idea, they did invite him, we all saw it. It might be for the best, considering.." Shika trailed off and looked slightly back at Erza, who just lifted an eyebrow.

The blond stopped and looked behind as well. Shika did have a point. No matter how much he promised, after all the sake he had consumed, Naruto wasn't sure he'd be able to keep Jiraiya off Erza. It would mean he'd have to stay awake the whole night, which would be stupid, considering they would arrive at Nebula tomorrow and he'd need to be completely rested. Sure, if things went bad, the girls would probably beat him up, but that was still better than being killed by Titania. And the waitresses did really invite him. As a man, it didn't feel right to stop him.

With a sigh, Naruto let go of Jiraiya's tail, much to the surprise of everyone present. "Fine. Just keep yourself from trouble, watch your behaviour and be back by the time we reach Nebula." He reached to his pocket and took out a three-pronged kunai. "You know how to get me."

Jiraiya immediately jumped and hugged the blond's face. "Thank you, Naruto! I owe you one!" Before the blond could even peel him off, the white cat sprouted a pair of wings, swiped the kunai and disappeared in a white blur of speed. The young man just let out a small smile. Hopefully his next book would actually be more interesting.

"Was that really wise? What if he does something inappropriate?" He met Erza's stern look.

"It'd be way more troublesome if he stayed." It was Shika that responded "Besides, they did invite him. From what Mistgun's been telling us, this happens pretty often."

"Mistgun?" the redhead questioned, as they continued walking towards their cabin.

"Yeah, he's a guild-mate and my brother." Naruto explained. "He was the one that actually found Jiraiya in a public bath. They somehow bonded and the pervert came back with him and joined our guild. They usually travel together, but on their last journey Jiraiya had somehow embarrassed him and he went without him on the next one. And there was no way in hell, I'd let that tomcat stay in the guild with my sister." They reached the compartment and the blond opened the door for her, while giving her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, despite being a huge pervert, even he wouldn't go too far without permission. And the girls did ask for him, so they should probably know what to expect."

Erza just nodded as she went inside, followed by the two remaining Caits. They all sat down, before the scarlet beauty spoke "Since we'll be working together, I think we should know more about each other's abilities. I will start this time." She saw she had Naruto and Shika's full attention and continued "I am an expert user of requip magic. It's a type of magic, where I store weapons and armour in a pocket dimension, after which I can summon them whenever I need them. I am actually fast enough to requip them during battle and because I not only use magic weapons, but magic armours as well, my particular style is called **The Knight**." Erza smiled at the bewildered expressions that were before her. "I am also very skilled with Telekinesis magic and I dare say I possess master swordsmanship as well as expert hand-to-hand combat ability."

"Wow.. The rumours about you really were true." Naruto let out a breath.

"Rumours?" Erza ran a hand through her hair.

"That your power is only matched by your beauty." the blond chuckled, before he continued "Ok, my turn now. I am a Sky Dragon Slayer. I can use various types of air and wind magic for both offensive and defensive purposes. I also have the ability to use healing magic as well, although it's somewhat taxing on me and I'm not as good as my sister."

"What do you eat to replenish your magical energy?"

Naruto looked at her surprised "Oh, not many people know about that ability of ours. As expected of Erza Scarlet."

The redhead smirked "You give me too much credit. I have a guild-mate who is a Dragon Slayer, that's how I know."

Naruto was once again surprised "Really? Maybe after this assignment is finished, I'll visit your guild. It's good to meet with other Dragon Slayers." he smiled. "Anyway, I eat air. It may sound strange, but it's actually pretty tasty. Oh, you might know this as well, but my scales would protect me from any sort of air related magic attacks. I also know a couple of support spells."

Erza nodded "Sky Dragon Slayer magic sounds quite dynamic. I've witnessed the power of a Slayer before, so you must be quite strong as well, considering you have so much flexibility."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head "Yeah, I'm pretty awesome. Oh, I'm also very adept in Rune magic. I can do barriers, enhancements and other various stuff. I can teleport as well."

This time it was the scarlet beauty's turn to be surprised "Really? That's pretty rare and hard to master."

"Yeah, I can even use it in battle." Naruto let out an embarrassed smile.

"I see. So the rumours about you being a powerful S-class mage were not exaggerated either."

"Absolutely! Between the two of us, we should breeze over this mission without any problems." the blond showed a confident grin.

"Great. Now I'm sure things will get troublesome. They always do when you say that." Shikamaru groaned as he buried his head in the seat.

"Oh come on, no need to be so pessimistic. Oh right, Shika like all Exceed can use Aera magic, which gives him the ability to fly, among other things."

"Yeah, I've seen my guild-mate before and Jiraiya demonstrated it as well."

"Well, that's pretty much it." Naruto grinned "We should.. uh.. Leave you so you can change" and he began standing up, before he was stopped by Erza.

"There's no need. I can even demonstrate my magic so you can get a basic idea." the redhead stood up, before her armour and clothes turned into light and started disappearing. The blond's eyes widened, since he could almost see her completely naked body, but before it went further, the light wrapped around her and took the shape of a set of blue PJs with the Heart Kreuz mark all over them.

Naruto had the presence of mind to recover his jaw, before he spoke. "S-so, that's **The Knight**. I'm guessing in battle you would use it to equip magical armours.. It also explains why you're not carrying any luggage.." The blond trailed off, still not being able to shake the image of her almost naked body from his mind. He wasn't sure he actually wanted to either.

"Well, not exactly, I still have luggage, it's just in the mail car." Erza smirked, satisfied at the stutter she had managed to cause.

"Still, that was really amazing." Naruto let out a grin.

"It's a good thing Jiraiya wasn't here too. It would have created quite the hassle" Shika added.

The blond just snickered as he stood up and picked his back-pack from the overhead compartment. Erza stood as well and opened the door "I'll leave you to change in private." The blond just nodded and started taking off his coat, while the redhead closed the door behind her.

After a minute it was opened by Naruto, who just wore a black T-shirt and a pair of orange PJ bottoms, with blue clouds over them. He finished folding his clothes and returned the backpack from where he had picked it. Before that though, Erza noticed he took out something wrapped in a crimson cloth. He unravelled it to reveal several board games and different decks of cards. Naruto looked at her.

"It's still a bit early. How about we play something?"

The scarlet beauty smiled "Sure, why not."

The blond motioned at the games, smiling mischievously "Ladies' pick."

Erza looked over the possibilities and made her choice.

**!~¡**

On the late afternoon of the following day the train was approaching Nebula station. Erza had actually spent a very enjoyable evening with Naruto and Shika, which was so far followed by quite the fun day. They had told her stories of their various encounters with Demons and Dark Guilds, as well as of the places they had gone too.

Jiraiya hadn't returned at all, not even for breakfast or lunch, and at one point Erza had expressed her concern for the absent feline. Naruto had reassured her that everything was Ok and if something were to happen, the white Exceed had a way of contacting him immediately. Since it was a common occurrence they would most likely meet him when they got off the train.

Which was going to be soon. After Naruto finished putting his backpack on, they headed for the mail car to pick up Erza's luggage. Both he and Shika were surprised at the sheer amount of it. It actually consisted of several very large briefcases that were tied to a large wooden cart.

The black Exceed muttered a "knew it", which was heard only by Naruto, who in turn couldn't help but say.

"That's really a lot of luggage you have there.. I thought you could store clothes and armour in a pocket dimension."

"Fu-fu. Of course I can." Erza smirked "These are filled mainly with food and ingredients, as well as various things for camping. One can never be prepared."

Both Cait Shelter members looked at the mountain of cases. Those were filled with food? Could she even eat that much? How prepared could you get? That girl was the living definition of overkill.

When the train finally stopped, one of the walls of the car came down, creating a ramp. The scarlet beauty simply grabbed a piece of rope attached to the cart and with little effort started pulling it. Naruto had thought of offering her help until he saw that. He then carried on to wonder how strong Erza Scarlet was exactly.

After getting off the train, the redhead looked around in confusion. The station basically consisted of a single open platform with one small building next to it. There were no buildings around it to signify this was even a town. The only thing that greeted them was a thick mist. She also noticed they were one of the very few people that actually got off the train, which was really strange, considering it was packed.

"This is Nebula town? We haven't made some sort of mistake, have we? And how come we are the only ones getting off the train?"

"I imagine word of the Demons got out and that they were forced to hire a Guild. So most likely, the people on the train are either headed to Shirotsume or even Town of Oak. As for the town itself, it's actually inside the forest." Naruto motioned towards somewhere in the mist. "See that road over there?"

Erza focused a bit and indeed, she could see the road and outlines of huge trees in the thick fog. "What's with the weather.." she wondered.

"This place, Nebula town, is actually a famous tourist attraction, specifically because of it." Shika explained.

"You mean people come here because of this mist?" Erza was a bit surprised at this revelation.

"The forest over there is actually known as 'Cloud forest'. By itself, it's not that special, since fog like this occurs in forests in particular places near mountainous regions or with tropical climate. What makes this place unique though is that the magic here is unstable, which in conjunction with the mist and the lighting can produce some of the most beautiful sights in the world. Sometimes it is said the fog would even take different shapes of Dragons or other mythical beasts. It could even show the future or the past and even though it is just a mist, you could even be able to hear the sounds of people talking."

"That might actually be the reason for so many Demon sightings." the Exceed continued with his explanations "Since the fabric of reality is weakened here, someone could use that to summon Dark creatures more easily."

"That is actually the reason there was also no job request until now." Naruto joined in. "Because it is such a big tourist attraction, the mayor or the people wouldn't want such bad publicity to affect their business. For them to create an official assignment like this either means things have gotten really bad or.." the blond trailed off.

"Or?" Erza lifted an eyebrow.

"Or someone else put it, without the knowledge of the people." Shika finished grimly. The eery atmosphere that followed was suddenly broken by the sound of giggles. The three of them turned towards one of the wagons to see a flying Jiraiya talking to two of the waitresses from last night. Both of them took a turn in crushing him in their bossoms, before giving him a small kiss on the head. They boarded the train afterwards and gave him a small wave as it started departing.

The white Exceed returned the wave, before it flew over the group with a wide grin on his face. Naruto shook his head at the alate cat "I don't get it. How do you manage to do it each time?"

Jiraiya's grin just widened as he puffed his chest. "It's the mane, coupled with my irresistible charm. And you're one to speak, we both know you're not that innocent yourself." The Exceed handed him the three-pronged kunai back.

Naruto didn't take it though, instead he just snorted. The imminent retort was interrupted by Shika "I don't want to stop you from comparing or anything, but can we head to Nebula? It's getting pretty late and I'm not really keen on travelling in that thick mist during the night. Plus, I really want to take a nap."

"You've been sleeping for the bigger part of the day." Erza observed as the group started walking.

"Considering what might be awaiting us, I'd rather catch on my sleep beforehand."

They reached the station building, but it turned out there were no available coaches or Magical cars.

"Great. So what now?" Jiraya spoke with clear irritation in his voice.

"I say we just follow the road. The town shouldn't be that far from the station, at most an hour away by foot. If it's no trouble for you.." Naruto turned towards Erza, eyeing her huge luggage cart.

The redhead shrugged "Of course not. Let's get moving, the sooner we get to town, the sooner we'll find out what's the situation."

The mages started following the road. The mist was so tick, it only allowed them to see a couple of meters in front of them. The silence of the forest coupled with the darkening evening atmosphere had somehow created a tension in the air. Each one of them was on guard as they moved on, including Shika, who only appeared to be sleeping on top of Erza's luggage.

The heavy feeling only kept increasing as they started seeing shadows moving around the trees as if they were being followed or watched. Erza noticed Naruto had casually moved his hands over his pockets, but the clear tension in his back and shoulders told her he would pull his weapons in a moment's notice. She couldn't really blame him, the feeling of being observed was ever so present in her gut and she felt her hands itching to summon one of her swords. She quelled the urge, since she knew such an act would only increase the tension, which would not be a good idea. Being observant and aware was one thing. Being paranoid was a whole other.

They continued walking, without breaking the silence, as the last rays of daylight disappeared. Naruto reached into his backpack and pulled out two torches. She expected them to light with fire, but instead soft green light started pouring from the tips. Naruto handed her one and the redhead noticed there were actually lacrima crystals at the tops.

"These are special lighting crystals from a cave. I charged them with a bit of my power, so even if you drop them, the light won't go out. They should stay lit for at least an hour more or until we simply draw the power out."

Erza took the torch "I didn't know such lacrima was naturally occurring. Where did you find it?"

The blond chuckled. "It's from a place I was raised at. The cave is actually really beautiful, since it is filled with different coloured crystals. I can show you sometime."

They continued on their way in silence again, but this time the tension had died down a bit. Erza could feel that little exchange had helped her relax somewhat. Her muscles were still ready to spring like an arrow from a strained bow, but the bad feeling in her gut had reduced.

The scenery of clouded trees remained unchanged, until they reached a clearing with a huge lake. The road passed right by the shore and as they approached it, the mist cleared to reveal an incredible sight. The water was crystal clear and was actually reflecting everything above it. The trees, the mountain, the moon and the stars, even the walking group.

"Wow." Erza felt the simple word exit her mouth. This was probably one of the most beautiful things she had seen.

"Incredible, isn't it?" Jiraiya asked as he flew a bit over the water.

"This is one of those sights I told you about." Shika explained. "But in truth, it's a natural occurring event. What the unstable region does is actually really incredible. It can sometimes bring the reflections to life over the waters."

Naruto's attention was caught by something and he suddenly turned his head towards a specific spot in the lake. "Hey.. What's that?" The group looked at the spot he was pointing at to see a small bubbleform on the surface before it burst, distorting the crystal waters. They approached it cautiously and tried looking into them. Because of the tiny waves, their reflections were slightly miffed.

After a bit, the water returned back to its crystal-clear state. The group's eyes widened though, as they saw the reflection of a dark silhouette swinging at them from behind.

**!~¡**

A round short figure made its way into a dark room. It was clad in light blue robes, yellow pointy shoes and a pair of yellow gloves. At the top, there was a yellow pointy hat covering its head, obstructing any sort of vision to its face. A vile stench followed him, as if it had a mind of its own.

The figure reached one of the walls of the room and stood before a large lacrima crystal. It clapped its hands and the room was slightly illuminated by the pale light of a pair of tripod candle holders, positioned on the walls.

The crystal itself was also illuminated to show a cloaked person.

"Yeees?" A voice was heard from it.

"The mages that took the request have arrived." the round figure spoke.

"Who was it that accepted it?"

"Erza the Titania, from Fairy Tail."

"Goood, she is powerful.." the voice from the communication lacrima paused for a bit. "You said mages, yeees? I thought she operated alone, nooo?"

"Indeed she does! However, I sensed another powerful magical presence enter the mist with her. They were also accompanied by two smaller ones."

"We can't have our operation being ruined now, nooo. Find out who it is, yeees. I don't want any unexpected hindrances, nooo."

The hat-wearing figure snorted "They can't stop us. Even if they menage to defeat the Behemoth, I would just kill them myself. They will be sacrificed!" It paused briefly, until the dim light was reflected from madly grinning teeth, the only thing that could be seen on the shadowed face. "Still, I sent them a small greeting."

**!~¡**

**[1]**ramen – a Japanese noodle dish.

**[4]**shōgi – literary means "generals' chess"; a two-player Japanese board game.

**[5]**Gō – an ancient two-player board game.

**[6]**perspicacious – having keen mental perception and understanding; discerning.

**!~¡**

**Author's Ramblings: **Story time! Many of the things I write come from inspirations from my real life, like this particular moment. One year ago, I was in a room at the university, with one of my friends, whom I will name here as Crazy Bitch and another guy, who I'm just going to call Jerk. We were waiting for the forth member of our group to arrive, after which we would start working on a project we were tasked with.

I was talking to CB until the door opened and one of the most beautiful women I have seen entered the room. For the purpose of the story, I will shorten her name to M. I am sure I stared at her for a certain amount of time, while these thoughts were passing through my mind: "Look at her face, that smile is just.. wow. And how can her breasts look so perfect? My God, that waist and those hips are just too beautiful. What the hell am I seeing? Holy shit, I think she's been saying stuff to me!"

At this point CB decided it was appropriate to stop snickering and shut my gaping mouth, whispering a "You're drooling.", which actually wasn't whispered. To answer the question of my female readership: Yes, ladies. All man are pigs, don't let anyone fool you. I belong to the portion that has the balls to admit it. The difference between men, is the amount of piggery that is displayed. For example, I can say I am quite proud of myself, because no matter how much my eyes begged and scratched at me during the following two hours to look over M's body again, the few instances I actually turned towards her direction, I maintained eye-contact (which wasn't so bad, since her eyes were probably the most beautiful green ones I've seen as well.)

Unfortunately, because of that, she got the wrong impression I had some sort of problem with her.

About my suggestion for the ambiance, when I wrote this Chapter it was pretty dark and I was alone at home. While I write, I actually have two lit candles on the sides of my laptop, that are held in a pair of bat-shaped candle holders. It's kind of a ritual for me. I also get so engrossed in my story, that I actually had a heavy feeling of uneasiness, while they were walking in the mist, as if I was there myself. To give you an example how into it I get, the moment when they closed the doors of the cabin on the train? I could actually hear them shutting. I have to say, it really does feel like I'm living in the story sometimes. Hence, my suggestion to you my wonderful readers. ^^

I realized I never referenced ramen in Chapter 3. ≥_≤ I can't expect all of you to know what it is exactly. n_~

Now, it's Q&A time! Today, me, Shika and Charle will be joined by Jiraiya!

**Jiraiya: **Hey there!  
><strong>Shika: <strong>*sigh* Are we going to do this every time? I should be napping in my off-screen time.  
><strong>Charle: <strong>I can't believe you put me in the same guild with a slouch and a pervert! What were you thinking?  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Oh, come on, Charle. You'd get too lonely by yourself.  
><strong>Charle: <strong>Hmph! I'm fine with just Wendy.  
><strong>Jiraiya: <strong>I on the other hand want to thank you for bringing me in. The life of a tomcat, it really is for me. I especially enjoyed the time I spent at the slumber party. *snicker*  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Aww, thanks, Jiraiya. I think the life of a cat suits both you and Shika a lot. Now let's move on to some of the wonderful reviews. First, thank you **Mzr90, Raidentensho, ShadowStar91, GuyYouDon'tKnow, Dragonking20, GaijinSamurai, yukicrewger2, Umbra8191, Drake the Gunner, peddy-kun, HelixRosario, Sevenar, kenegi, Liger01, Cuervo Blanco, 7 Winds, NaruSasu must die, Anonymous** (the one after NaruSasu)**, Fangking2, Altair, dbzsotrum9, Hypothetical Spiritual Entity, grimangel163, DarkSyde24, The Robdog, Yusuke kun, mlkoolc86, G3neSyS, Orchamus, soulofdragon1, Arct1cfox, Final Black Getsuga, namikazestorm, Raven Marcus, Junky,Kazekira** and **vitorhugo0**(I got this review while I was writing the Q&A)for taking the time to write one, some even more than one. All your encouragements make me really happy. I haven't responded to any of you via a PM, because I thought it would be better to answer your questions here, so if others have had them as well, they'd get answers too. So don't think I'm ignoring you or anything. From now on though, if I really like the review or the questions, I'll also start answering by PMs, while providing an answer in a Q&A session for the general public as well. Just my way to show a little appreciation. ^^y

**Shika: **Let's start with the Dragon Slayers ideas first.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>I have to admit, I enjoyed reading them, some were quite funny. I have considered some and got ideas from others. Unfortunately, even if the idea behind it was great, I can't use all. Especially since there were some for which I'm not sure what exactly the Dragon Slayer would be able to eat. Still, thank you all for the suggestions and I hope you'd continue reading the story regardless. ^^

**Jiraiya: **Onto the reviews now. I think we should start with **Final Black Getsuga**. As a fellow writer, I can tell you were quite happy by that one.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Indeed! Thanks a lot, mate, I was overjoyed when you said the way I write was similar to a book. That is in fact my goal, I want my story to look and read exactly like one. After all, I plan to pursue a writing career and for me this is something like training. That's why I don't answer some questions right away, because I try to explain everything by the story itself. I have also assumed that my readers have never read Naruto or Fairy Tail, so for me, it's like I'm telling the story for the first time. In truth, I know some of my readers haven't actually read one or the other, that's why I try to be as detailed as possible, even for things that people should technically know. That's why I reference some of the words as well. It's funny you know. Artists try to tell a story with their pictures while writers try to paint a story with their words. I'm ™ing this sentence by the way.  
><strong>Charle: <strong>As for the Dragon suggestions, I liked the Light Dragon Slayer one.  
><strong>Shika: <strong>Yeah, it might be a popular one. I think I read it in another review as well.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>It's a good idea. I think he'd physically grab the light photons or rays and eat them, rather than absorb them. I think the impact would be bigger that way. Oh, also, I think he'd be able to eat all types of light, even one coming from candles, torches, fire, etc. It's all about the photons. I don't think he'd be able to form weapons though, for that the element needs to be somewhat solid. It's a good idea, I'll think about it.  
><strong>Shika: <strong>The Darkness one though.**.  
>DSP:<strong> Ok, to be honest, it's also a good idea, but I have a theory about it. I think Acnologia is the Darkness Dragon and there already is a Darkness Dragon Slayer. My personal theory is that Zeref is the one actually. So I'm reluctant to use it..  
><strong>Jiraiya: <strong>What about the pairing? I think he deserves something about it, since he praised your story and said it read like a book.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>All right, but it won't be much, since the pairing will be a huge cliffhanger. I think by now, you wonderful readers should have realized I love them.  
><strong>Juvia: <strong>Juvia belongs to Gray-sama only. And Gray-sama is Juvia's.

**Jiraiya: Mzr90 **suggested a Wood, Gravity or Sand Dragon Slayer and asked for me. No one can resist my main!  
><strong>Charle: <strong>Hmph, I think it's because he likes watching you get beat up.  
><strong>Jiraiya: <strong>Hey!  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Wood is an interesting idea, but it's composed of living cells, so I don't think it can work. Gravity is also an interesting one, but I'm not sure what the Slayer would eat. Sand is something I'm considering, although not exactly. As for the Exceed, I think we already have a lazy and perverted ones, but Tayuya could be fun to write.

**Shika: Raidentensho **asks if Naruto's style will resemble Dodando(?) from Shaman King?  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Honestly, I don't know who that is. I've only seen the anime and maybe read a tiny bit from the manga (only the story of how Yoh and Anna met, that was really fluffy \(≥▽≤)/). I'll try to make Naruto's style and spells as original as possible. Thanks for the suggestion! ^^

**Charle:** One of my favourite authors and reviewers, **ShadowStar91**, has asked you a couple of interesting questions and has made some nice suggestions.  
><strong>Jiraiya: <strong>Yeah, I liked the one about the Sun Dragon.  
><strong>Shika: <strong>Right, that's where I saw it first.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Yeah, I'm thinking of combining him with the Light Dragon. I've also thought about the Crystal one as well, but in a slightly different light.. I like the idea of Dragon Force after eating a lacrima. We'll see ~ As for Roubaul, I think what he did in canon was really cruel towards Wendy and she should have been much more crestfallen than it was shown. Seriously, you don't reveal to a 12 year old child everyone she ever knew wasn't real, especially after she had been abandoned twice, by her mother and a close friend. You can't expect her to receive support from people she only just met. ¬_¬  
><strong>Charle: SS91 <strong>also asks about Leonard and if he possessed someone else?  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Great question! It will be revealed later in the story. I can tell you in a PM if you want a small spoiler, since you asked the question. n_~  
><strong>Shika: <strong>He liked your idea about Sasuke being Laxus' Exceed. He also asks which one is going to be Inchiostro's?  
><strong>DSP: <strong>I was joking about Sasuke actually. But now that you mention it.. Hrm.. I was thinking someone like Hinata (weak and shy) to keep him in check, but in truth I don't really like that type of characters so I let go of that idea. The purpose of the cats is to generally create humor, although some will have important roles in fights as well. As for Inchiostro's Exceed.. *laughs madly* It's going to be a surprise. Oh, I'm gonna have so much fun. Oh and as for Naruto's age, I've actually timed it perfectly. If you folks want, I can post a timetable or something next time. Thanks for the review, mate!

**Jiraiya: GuyYouDon'tKnow **suggests an Ice Dragon Slayer with Haku personality and a Zabuza Exceed.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Awww, they'd be too cute. I think Ice Dragon Slayer would fall in the Water Dragon category though.

**Shika: Dragonking20** wants to know how will you make up for Mistgun's absence in the PL arc. He also asks will Naruto meet with Morgana before or after canon and who is Inchiostro's Exceed going to be?  
><strong>DSP: <strong>He-he. Let me just say I also like NCIS a lot. Also very perceptive of you about Morgana. As the story continues it will be revealed what her role is. She'll be very important actually, as you've figured out, but that's all I'm going to say. As a reward, I can tell you who Inchiostro's Exceed will be, but you have to promise to keep it a secret until I reveal it! As for the PL arc, I'm actually really excited about it. It's one of my favourite moments in my story, so look forward to it. About Inchiostro, I didn't even think of Sai when I thought of her. I was thinking what type of elements could there be for Dragons and as I thought of Cobra, I realized even though it was created by another creature, poison was still naturally occurring in nature. So then I realized ink was the same. Also, thank you for the wonderful suggestion, you were really descriptive. ^^

**Charle: GaijinSamurai** is eager to see what Kurama's plans are.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Me too, I think you'd be surprised. As for Naruto, I had another element planned for him, but isn't he the Wind God in all our hearts? ^▽^

**Jiraiya: yukicrewger2 **suggests Haku or Hinata as Exceed for a Water Dragon Slayer.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>I like Haku a lot, it was so sad when he died in canon. He'd make a cute Exceed.

**Shika: Drake the Gunner **suggests a Dragon that can use Meteor magic.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>That's a cool idea, but I don't really know what he'd be able to eat.. He'd fall in the Earth category too I think.

**Jiraiya: peddy-kun **asks for a Meat Dragon Slayer with Chouji as an Exceed.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>One actually existed. Chouji ate him though. He also ate the Dragon as well. Who needs Dragon Slayers, when you have a hungry Chouji? ^^

**Charle: HelixRosario **was surprised at the length of the Prologue.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>So was I. I'm thinking if maybe I should go back and cut the Prologue to Chapter 2 and make Chapters 3 and 4 into an introductory arc. What do you folks think?

**Shika: Sevenar **thinks Naruto, Wendy and Gérard accepted us talking too easily.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Well, Gérard does know about them, so he provided an explanation. Plus as Erza said, Earth Land is filled with magical creatures, like lizardmen or frogmen. The dinosaur Natsu beat at Tenrou island could also talk. And no, the illusions won't make an appearance. I think Gérard and Naruto would have found out eventually. Plus it was a cruel thing to do.

**Jiraiya: kenegi **asks for a three-way union raid, between Lucy, Juvia and a Water Dragon Slayer.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>You know, I had forgotten about that, since it was shown so little in canon. Which brings the question why.. That was really a powerful attack, I think they'd use it more. Also, I saw how you said Luvia, I still remember the time she was referred to like that in the manga. I actually considered leaving her as Luvia in the story as well.

**Charle: Liger01 **asks why was Kyuubi scared in Chapter 1 of dying.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>I don't think he was scared, rather he'd have a tough fight on his hands. And normally, he wouldn't really die.. if he was in his own world. n_~

**Shika: **Cuervo Blanco is next..  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Thank you again for the great suggestion! I still can't believe you created such an amazing character and offered it to me. I know how hard it is to create Original Characters so I really appreciate the amount of time you put into it. I'm still thinking about her and situations in which I could include her, but seriously, she deserves to be one of the main characters, even Naruto's romantic interest. Let me tell you though, I'm not too confident writing serious humor yet, that's really hard.  
>As for your questions, I've never really thought of Gérard gaining natural magical powers with the help of Naruto, but I did get an idea on the matter, something I might actually explore in the future. For that I'm really grateful as well. ^^<p>

**Jiraiya: Anonymous**, the one after **NaruSaku** asks a very interesting question.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Mate, that idea blew my mind. I never thought of something like that. I don't think it's possible though, not with Ultear's mastery of Arc of Time at least. The way I see it, she controls the time of a specific object in the current moment. The object still exists in the current time and space, but just its existence is different. Let's say she uses her magic on a tree and turns it to the past. The tree would still exist in the current time and space, but its form would be one of the past. To actually send it into the past, I think she would need to complete Arc of Time, which was her goal in canon. What she can do with Naruto's Kunai is change their direction and place like her orbs.. Hm.. Anyway, thanks for the awesome question. My jaw fell at the possibility. ^^y

**Shika: dbzsotrum9 **suggests a Naruto/Ayame pairing.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>You know, if I did one, I think it'd not only be the first serious one in the NxFT crossovers, but in all Naruto stories as well. ≥▽≤

**Charle: Hypothetical Spiritual Energy **suggests an Explosion Dragon Slayer, with Deidara as an Exceed.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Mate, when I read your post, my mind was blown (hell yeah, pun intended). I think I laughed for ten minutes straight. When I was thinking of an answer I was going to respond "What's he gonna eat, gunpowder?" and then my mind kicked me "Wait a minute.." So thanks for the epic idea, I still laugh when I think about your review. He won't have the Joker personality though, since I don't want to steal too much stuff from other places. Not to mention, no one can do the Joker like Heath Ledger and he's dead (ToT) But I'll still go for funny, coupled with insane. Incidentally, Deidara is one of my favourite characters from Naruto. I actually like most of the Akatsuki bunch, they're quite funny.

**Charle: DarkSyde24 **asks if there will be a time-skip and when will the canon events start? He also asks if the story would be focused on Cait Shelter and Nove Volpi?  
><strong>DSP: <strong>I think this Chapter answers your question. n_~ For the record, Naruto was 12 in Chapter 4. As for Nove Volpi, they'll be one of the important story-lines. I think the story itself should answer your question in time. ^^

**Jiraiya: Yusuke kun **has made some interesting suggestions.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far. I've thought of some of those myself, the others I found funny.

**Shika: G3neSyS** liked the idea of me being in a team with Naruto a lot. He also expressed his happiness with the length and detail of the story and hopes you can keep updating it.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Mate, let me say, this is just the beginning. I hope I can surpass your expectations. I'm glad you liked the length and detail, some people might find it tedious. As I've said: "Artists try to tell a story with their pictures while writers try to paint a story with their words."™

**Charle: soulofdragon1 **wanted us to join Fairy Tail.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>All in good time my friend, they'll get there.. maybe? *whistles innocently*

**Jiraiya: Arct1cfox **asked if you meant Fate? I have to say, you make a lot of mistakes.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Well, excuse me for not having a squad of editors like you. Mine are still awesomer than yours. Anyway, thanks a lot, mate, for the correction. And yeah, they do blush a lot. And get embarrassed and are just plain cute altogether. Well, wherever he stole it from, Kurama is still an epic name. Is Yu Yu Hakusho actually a good read? And by that I mean, does it also have a happy ending? I prefer reading and watching happy things right now.

**Shika: Junky **asks some really interesting questions.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Indeed. Ok, first, thank you for the first one, I now realize I hadn't explained it as well in the story, so I will elaborate on it later on. But since you asked such a great question and pointed out something really important, I can answer it for you in PM if you still want to. Otherwise, Naruto Marvell doesn't have a chakra network, so he can't perform any chakra-rellated techniques. The Spiraling Orb is actually made of Air Magic and he won't know any wind techniques from his parents. In truth, I think he actually got Wind affinity from his mother, since Tsunade had said he has her chakra. And Kushina didn't leave him any techniques, because she's not good with ninjutsu(also stated in canon). As for the rest of your questions, they'll be answered by the story gradually. Thank you so much again, for pointing out a possible hole. As I said, if you don't want to wait for it to be properly explained, I'll answer your question in PM. ^^y

**Charle: Kazekira** doesn't like the fact that Naruto lost his first fight.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>My beta, **Vandenbz **analyzed it pretty well, so I will just use his words. Naruto faced a Dragon Slayer that was older and had been thought magic for a longer period of time and is more accustomed to her element. She was also quite cunning and had spells from another discipline. Plus, I wanted him to lose. Let me put it like this: this story won't have a God-like Naruto. He will face very tough opponents and he will struggle, with the possibility of losing. For me, it'd be boring if he always won. True growth can be achieved through failure and that's why canon Naruto is strong. If you pursue power, without a proper goal, you wouldn't appreciate it and would misuse it. Losing sometimes would also keep you from getting arrogant. Look at the originals, things always seem grim for the main characters, they always have to give it their 110% effort in order to win. It's the same with everything. If something is worth doing, it is worth dying for.  
>He won't be the only one. Everyone will have a tough fight. Otherwise it'd be boring. I hope you keep reading and give the story a chance, so you can see what I mean. n_~ Thank you for the review.<p>

**Jiraiya: vitorhugo0 **suggested an Exceed with a Laxus personality.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>That was an awesome idea, I've never thought of something like that. I mean I only thought of Exceed with personalities from the Elemental Nations, not with personalities of their Earth Land counterparts. Thanks, I'll think about it. Also liked your idea about a Ground Dragon Slayer, I never actually seriously considered this.. Oh, by the way, you posted your review right when I was doing the Q&A session. ^▽^

**Shika: **Well, that's it for the Q&A. Taking a nap now.  
><strong>Jiraiya: <strong>I think I'll visit those lovely ladies from last night..  
><strong>Charle: <strong>What a disgrace!  
><strong>DSP: <strong>He-he. I actually need your wonderful readers' opinions on something. How does the Magic Council operate exactly? It's really not explained too well and it might be all right in the manga, since everything is in that spirit, but I can't have it this way in my story. Ok, from what I gathered, the Magic Council is a separate entity that oversees the whole magic world and has branches in each country. I had initially thought that each country had its own separate Council, that answered to a government. At least that's how it was shown in the manga at points, but there isn't a global government, right? And at other instances, it was shown as the first case. It even has its own city - Era. So here is what I thought: The Magic Council is an autonomous entity, that oversees the Magic world. Each country has its own Council representatives as part of their government, that also answer to the big guys and the big guys answer in part to the governments. Is that good? What are your opinions on the matter. Depending on the outcome, I might need to go back and make slight corrections in Chapter 4. Wow, the **Author's Ramblings **sure are getting long.. It kind of feels like cheating.. Because of that, from next chapter I'll post the actual lengths of chapters, including the ones that have already passed. ^^

Anyway, thank you all for your wonderful reviews and continuous support! I can only say, keep it coming. d≥ω≤b Thanks for reading Chapter 5 of **'Fairy Tail's Orange Flash'**! Don't forget to review !~

**!~¡**


	6. Chapter 6 An unexpected greeting

**!~¡  
><strong>

Hello, gentle readers ~

I have a confession to make. I'm an addict. And I'm proud of it. The substance I'm addicted to is the greatest creation of mankind. Music. In particular, I've been listening to DnB, Dubstep and Psychedelic for the past month to a point when it's not healthy. I guess there's something called melodic hip-hop thrown in there as well.. Not sure if that's the name of the genre, but it's awesome. I wrote this under the influence of some fast Psy, some sweet bass drops and a slight pinch of epic music.

Last chapter, Chapter 5 was a mark of many things. I won't go into how much I like that number, I'm just going to say it was a stepping stone. I passed **260 Favourites, 200 Alerts **and **100 reviews**. I actually have at least 26 reviews per chapter. I also got added to another C2 and to more author lists. Thank you, **Shigiya****, The Crooked Step, TRAVELERAYGA, krash2361989, Fic Hunter, Kal-NayahC, NovaBladeZ, Z-Breezy, hello2000, Dante siegfried 888 **and **ALL **of my readers. I'm very grateful for the support, it may not seem as much, but for me it's a lot. The adventure is just beginning, so I'll just say, keep it coming. n_~

Thanks to my beta **Vandenbz**, for bearing with my 'u's and comas that drive him insane. Thanks to **X009 **for looking it over and giving his opinions as well. Check out his stuffz, they are awesome. Finally, thanks to **Sir-Shun **for the tip he gave me. Check him out as well, you won't be sorry.

This chapter was supposed to be posted on Friday. But the site glitched on Thursday, as I think most of you might have found out. What better way to celebrate the site going back to normal, than Chapter 6 of **'Fairy Tail's Orange Flash'**.

Enjoy ^^ !~

**!~¡**

Chapter 6: An unexpected greeting

**!~¡**

Without a moment's hesitation Erza ducked under the swipe and felt the force of the swing ruffle her hair. Naruto took out a kunai but was hit mid-jump and sent flying into a tree, making him drop it. Yet, instead of the blond's body only his backpack and a gust of wind collided with the bark. The gust circled the tree, shaking the leaves a bit, before it concentrated in the form of a small tornado over one of the larger branches. It quickly took the shape of the orange-clad mage as he turned his head to where he had been a moment ago.

Naruto saw Erza's clothes and armour turn into light, almost exposing her body the same way as the previous night before it wrapped around her and took the shape of a different armour. It was black in colour with silver trimming at various places. A silver-edged breastplate covered part of Erza's chest, revealing her rich cleavage and leaving her belly exposed. Black plates wrapped around her back and waist until they reached a very large waist-guard. It was composed of very long, silver-edged plates, shaped like feathers and decorated by silver crosses with her front left exposed. Her groin was covered by a dark bikini-like garment and she wore black metal greaves with silver-edged plates extending and wrapping up to her hips.

The redhead had a pair of slim black gauntlets reaching to her elbows that were equipped with prominent protection for her hands. They sported silver parts in a pattern reminiscent of straps and her upper arms were covered by large shoulder-guards that consisted of two silver-edged plates each, one over the other, that had large silver crosses on them. The armour was completed with a high collar with a shape similar to one from a dress and around her neck Erza had a silver necklace with three large red crystals. Her scarlet hair was tied in a high ponytail with two bangs framing her face.

What caught Naruto's attention the most were a pair of bat wings that came from the armour's back. Black metal 'arms' acted as the base structure and the wings themselves were composed from a membrane-like material. The armour looked kind of familiar to him, but his mind was currently preoccupied with something else and didn't have the proper presence to pinpoint exactly from where.

Whoa, Naruto briefly thought, did she get almost naked every time she requipped armour? And how come her armour didn't cover some.. parts that should be considered important. Not that he minded the view, Erza looked breathtaking, but if things were to keep going like that, it would be a bit distracting. Ok, maybe very distracting.

He saw the redhead make a huge swing with a sabre that had a black and red decorated handle, producing a large cutting wave. The thing that had attacked them lifted its giant arm to guard itself, apparently expecting its thick skin to offer enough protection. Judging by the roar of pain and the gush of blood that appeared on its hand, face and body, it didn't. Naruto looked over the creature.

He noted several things. It was huge, it was very ugly and was most likely not that mobile. It looked like an overgrown boar that stood on two legs. The hooves were actually pointed, like spears, and black fur was covering its whole body, except its giant belly and flabby chest. Its arms were enormous and clawed and a pair of horns came from its shoulders, slightly taking the appearance of shoulder-guards. It had a short swishing tail with a furred end and a pair of vulture-like wings sprouting from its hunched back that had two clawed fingers coming from each middle joint.

Its face was the worst part. It had two yellow glowing eyes and four pairs of curved tusks came from its elongated snout. It had three pairs of horns at the sides of its forehead, positioned right above pointed ears. Naruto lifted an eyebrow at the creature's disproportionate appearance. How would it even be able to fly? The wings didn't look like they could support its huge body in the slightest. It was not the time to ponder physics though as the creature lifted its giant arm and with a roar attempted to flatten Erza into the ground.

The redhead flew to the right, easily dodging the Demon's wide swing and sliced at its legs, producing another huge gash and a roar of pain. The blonde was about to jump from the tree and assist her, before the voice of Shika held him back.

"Naruto, wait!" the young mage turned to his right and saw the black Exceed land on the same branch, accompanied by Jiraiya.

"What! I should go help her" he said impatiently.

"No, it's a bad idea. We aren't familiar with our surroundings and we don't know if there aren't anymore enemies hiding around. Furthermore, if these are the Demons causing problems, we should assume they know the area." Shika explained. "It's best if we regroup and make a plan."

Naruto was about to protest that they should deal with the one in front of them before that, but something else caught his attention. Waves formed at the lake before the water began rising. It took the form of a blue horned Demon with a solid muscled chest and stomach. Its legs were still formed from the lake though and the blonde could see small fish swimming in them. It lifted a clawed arm and produced a trident made of water.

The blond nodded "Fine." The blue demon threw its weapon at the redhead's back. "Stay here, I'll get Erza."

Said redhead had been busy with dodging and slashing at the giant Demon in front of her. Her blond companion had disappeared since the start of the battle which made her worry. What if that initial hit actually hurt him? Maybe it was a mistake to have him accompany her on such a dangerous mission. Distracted in her thoughts, she failed to sense the new presence and the incoming attack from behind until it was too late. Erza gritted her teeth and hoped her armour would provide enough protection until she felt a hand softly touching her waist.

Before she could even express any sort of surprise at the sudden appearance of said hand, her view was changed. One moment she was looking at the huge ugly Demon in front of her and expecting a hit from behind, the next she was looking at a pointed trident made of water hit said Demon in the chest. Not only that, but she realized she saw it from the side some distance away and on a tree branch, which was a huge change from her previous surroundings. Erza turned a confused look to the hand that was touching her and followed it to reach the missing blond who was making a shushing sign.

"Shhh, I teleported us to a tree. Shika said it was better if we regrouped." he couldn't continue, interrupted by the roar of the giant Demon.

"Wå†¢h ï†! †hå† hµr†!*****"

Erza narrowed her eyes at the strange speech. She turned a questioning gaze to Naruto, but it was Jiraiya that whispered.

"That's Demonic."

"Ï wå$ åïmïñg å† †hê rê∂hêå∂. $†øp ¥øµr whïñïñg. ¥øµ $høµ£∂ ßê å££ rïgh†" the blue Demon retorted as it approached the shore. It wasn't actually moving its legs, it looked like the lake just pushed him. Erza realized that the water trident that was supposed to impale her came from it. She should thank Naruto for getting her out of that one.

The big Demon snorted "Whêrê ∂ï∂ $hê gø? Åñ∂ whêrê ï$ Åßråxå$?"

"Hê $åï∂ hê wå$ jµ$† gøïñg †ø øß$êrvê. Åñ∂ †hê ß£øñ∂ $høwê∂ øµ† øƒ ñøwhêrê åñ∂ †øµ¢hê∂ hêr, ßêƒørê †hê¥ ßø†h ∂ï$åppêårê∂ ïñ åñ øråñgê ƒ£å$h."

"†hå† ßå$†år∂!" the big one snarled, before it grinned maniacally "Ï'm gøïñg †ø ¢å†¢h †hå† ßï†¢h åñ∂ måkê hêr på¥ ƒør †hê wøµñ∂$ $hê ïñƒ£ï¢†ê∂. Ï'££ ßê ƒêå$†ïñg øñ hêr ƒ£ê$h †øñïgh†."

The water Demon made a disgusted expression "¥øµ $ï¢kêñ mê."

"ƒµññ¥, Ï ¢åñ $å¥ †hê $åmê åßøµ† ¥øµ."

While the Demons talked in their language the mages were planning their counter-attack.

"We have the chance for a surprise attack, although it's not that big. They should be alert and expecting us." Shika caught everyone's attention.

"Think you can handle the big one?" Naruto looked at Erza.

"Its skin is quite thick and its speed is nothing to frown at." The redhead smiled confidently "I can take it down easily if I have a moment's distraction. The water one could be a problem though, we don't know its full abilities."

"I think I can take care of it and provide that distraction. Do you need long?"

The scarlet beauty shook her head.

"The mist is coming down again." Jiraiya noted.

"This could be troublesome." Everyone turned towards Shika.

"Why?" Naruto asked "We could use this to our advantage."

"Not really. Considering they've been here longer than us, they might be more used to fighting in these conditions. Not to mention we still don't know if these two are the only enemies around. If they aren't we can still get surprised in this mist while we're fighting." Shika explained.

Naruto had a thoughtful expression with his arm holding his chin "All right.. I think I can keep the mist away for a bit. Shika and Jiraiya, you two go to the skies and warn us if you see something or if the mist is coming back and we haven't finished." He turned to Erza "How are you going to take down Mr. Big and Ugly?"

For an answer, the black armour that Erza was wearing transformed into bubbles of light barely covering key locations of her body, before they wrapped around it in the form of a new outfit. It was a golden coloured armour with a breastplate consisting of two parts. The upper one was compromised of one giant plate, covering Erza's chest and stomach, with a large cross over her belly. Underneath it the second part was in the form of several metal plates that went down her legs until they reached the upper half of her hips, taking the form of a short skirt. The plates were in a spider-like pattern and the edge was covered with fur. Around her neck attached on a stranded band was a large medallion in the form of a four-leaf clover.

Her shoulder guards were large and pointing upwards with fur trimmings on the lower edges that covered her biceps. The rest of her arms had ample protection as well – she had a pair of elbow guards that had a small decoration reminiscent of Dragon's wings and a pair of large gauntlets with fur over her wrists. She had a pair of plated greaves on her legs, with plates going up to her lower hips. There was more fur around her ankles and the lower edges of her knee-guards that had the same Dragon wing decorations as her elbows, albeit a bit bigger. The armour was completed with a golden headgear that looked a lot like a pair of rabbit ears. Overall, the whole outfit had a very barbaric look to it.

"This is **The Giant's Armour**. It increases the wearer's throwing power." the redhead explained. "And this.." her sabre disappeared and was replaced by a large spear with a black handle and silver spearhead decorated with a golden cross, that had a drum-like end "is the **Evil Crushing Spear **which subdues darkness. With my armour's ability it should be more than enough to finish the Demon."

"Your armours are quite impressive, Titania. Just like that beautiful body of yours." Jiraiya commented with a perverted grin.

"Not the time." Naruto groaned.

"Hmpf, hypocrite. You were probably thinking the same thing." the white Exceed retorted.

"Let's get going!" the blond said hastily, hoping he'd be fast enough to hide his blush. He transformed into a small tornado, before dispersing into a violent gust of wind and taking off around the area, blowing the mist away. Erza leapt off from the branch and landed with ease, creating two small craters in the ground around her feet. The duo of Exceed took off into the air, which caught the Demons' attention. They noticed the redhead as well and turned towards her before Naruto appeared between them in a crouching position, grabbing the three-pronged kunai he had dropped in the beginning of the fight.

"Hi" he greeted the water Demon before he erupted with a roundhouse kick, striking it on the chin and sending it flying backwards into the lake. The big one was making another swipe at the blond, but was met with Naruto's outstretched hand.

"**Sky Dragon's Spiralling Orb!**" The ugly Demon let out an agonizing roar as the swirling wind sphere bore into its arm. At that moment Naruto heard Erza's battle cry and caught a glimpse of the rapidly approaching **Evil Crushing Spear**. Without staying to see the outcome, he jumped onto the lake's surface, his orange cloak fluttering behind, and dashed towards the water Demon that had now recovered.

The creature had stood up and had morphed his hands into weapons. The left had the shape of a spear of swirling water while the right looked like a giant double-edged blade. He snorted at the human's foolishness at stepping on the now distorted surface, which was clearly his domain. He sent his magical power into it, forming several spikes underneath and directing them at the blond. He heard his opponent chant something that created four small cyclones around his arms and legs, as well as an additional one circling his weapon in a figure eight pattern, but dismissed it while he directed his attack. That proved to be a huge mistake as the spikes missed the blond's location completely.

In an instant, Naruto was in front of the water Demon, kicking a large amount of water from under his feet and slashing with the kunai at its throat. His adversary moved back, narrowly avoiding the attack and tried to impale the blond with its left hand, following it with a slash of its own with its right. Naruto side-stepped the spear before jumping in the air and spinning over the double-edged blade. The moment he regained his footing he spun again, landing a kick to the Demon's waist that sent it flying to the right. Not stopping his assault the blond followed his enemy, lifting his right palm.

"**Sky Dragon's Spiralling Orb!**" This time the Demon was faster in recovering and seeing the imminent danger it turned its spear into a water shield that absorbed most of the attack, dispersing it into a violent maelstrom before the creature followed with another slash with its right hand.

Erza had changed back into her usual attire and was walking towards the slain Demon to recover her spear. She regarded Naruto's battle with interest and was impressed at the young man's fighting prowess. She briefly wondered how was he able to stay on top of the lake's surface, until she saw white runes glowing on his black sandals. The redhead realized they were probably the cause behind his water-walking abilities when she reached her weapon. Making sure the huge Demon was indeed dead, she touched her spear, sending it back to the pocket dimension in a flash of light before she turned to the raging battle on the lake's surface. The scarlet beauty briefly wondered if she should assist her temporary partner, but decided against it. It looked like he had things under control and she did want to see the extent of the infamous Orange Flash's abilities. Not to mention, if Naruto wasn't able to defeat a Demon of that calibre, then he wouldn't be able to handle a S-class assignment.

Since Naruto had made the battle up close and personal, the water Demon was forced to shorten his weapons. While his right hand still had the form of a double-edged blade, his left had five clawed fingers. What was more, he couldn't use the lake's water to his advantage since it would require a bit of concentration. If he was even slightly distracted he could fall victim to the mage's relentless assault. He couldn't believe he was being pressured that much by a mere human.

It was time to go on the offensive. He swiped with his claws only for his wrist to be pushed back by the blond's right, before the young man cocked it backwards for a counter-attack. That was a feint though. The water Demon's true attack was the slash with his right hand. Since the mage was this close, he wouldn't be able to dodge and his weapon was too short to properly block. The creature saw his opponent move his hand to attempt just that and almost smiled. It was useless. To say he was shocked at what followed would be an understatement.

The three-pronged kunai suddenly changed. The side blades grew slightly, while the middle was extended by quite a bit, giving it an overall look of a short claymore. The now longer weapon blocked the incoming strike without a hitch as realization struck. The mage had anticipated his feint and had made one of his own. A feint within a feint. The water Demon could only watch helplessly as the cyclone bracelet over the blond's right wrist extended and engulfed his full arm with the tip of his palm looking like the pointed end of a tornado funnel.

"**Sky Dragon's Tornado Spearhand!**" Naruto's hand impaled the Demon through its chest and went out of its back. The creature's arms fell limply to its sides, while its watery legs disappeared into the lake. The blond let out a smile and turned his weapon back to normal. His plan had worked quite well. Many would think rushing into the enemy's domain was stupid, but it only counted if you gave your opponent enough time to actually use it to his advantage. He started making a motion to remove his hand from the Demon's chest, but was suddenly surprised when the creature grabbed it tightly. Naruto snapped his head to its face, as his enemy locked gazes with him.

The Demon coughed slightly, before it whispered "Thank you.." Life faded from its eyes afterwards and its body started to dissolve into water. Naruto moved his now freed hand hastily and stared in shock. What the hell was that all about? Why would a Demon of all creatures thank someone for being killed?

"Erza! To your left!" Naruto was brought back from his inner thoughts by Jiraiya's scream. He turned his head rapidly to the shore to witness a giant wave of fire heading for the redhead. The scarlet beauty took cover behind the huge Demon's corpse, which actually absorbed part of the wave. Naruto followed the flames to their source before frowning a bit.

Shika had been right, there were more enemies hiding. Rather another Demon. It had the upper body of a skeleton with its bones being black. There were several things to note – the demon was completely covered in infernal flames. Its skull had a number of small horns growing from it and instead of legs coming from its pelvis, its spine was actually elongated giving the appearance of a long snake-like tail. From its shoulder blades extended a pair of demonic wings that had flames between the dark bones instead of the usual flesh-like membrane. Its arms were skeletal as well, but instead of five human fingers it had four enormous claws on its palms.

Its wings and hands were outstretched and it was generating intense flames towards Erza's location. Naruto realized the corpse she was hiding behind wouldn't last much longer against such intense heat and she would be exposed to it eventually. It was time to catch the fire Demon's attention. Naruto took in a deep breath and puffed his cheeks.

"**Sky Dragon's ROOOOAAAAAR!**" he aimed his attack at the flaming Demon. The creature noticed the hurricane-like blast rapidly approaching and dodged it by flying into the air. The good news was that had forced it to stop channelling the flames towards Erza. The bad news – now Naruto had its attention. It flew towards the blond, swiping its whip-like tail to create a flame wave aimed at him.

Still having his **Amzu-Vernier **active, Naruto decided it would be better to dodge. He didn't have the time to form some sort of defence with the water, plus it was better to bait his opponent further into the lake anyway. The blond sped towards the centre of the lake, noting the burning Demon was still after him. All was going well, until a wall of flames erupted in front of him. Naruto barely managed to stop and turned around to notice he was in a circle of fire.

"Nowhere to run to now, human. Time to melt your flesh." the Demon chuckled sinisterly as it flew above him. Naruto looked around the wall.

"Flames on the water's surface.. How?"

"I observed your battle from earlier. You seemed like a cunning adversary, so I anticipated you would probably run to the middle of the lake to somehow use the water to your advantage if you were to face against me. That is why I set this trap in advance. And don't bother going underwater, my flames are strong enough to reach you even then. Face your end, hairless ape."

Naruto was about to retort before he saw something that made him smile a little. "Not bad, but you failed to consider one thing."

"What?"

"Unlike you, I have a good-looking partner." Erza appeared behind the Demon and severed its neck bones. To her annoyance, apparently it didn't really need a neck as it merely rotated its skull 180 degrees to face the redhead.

"Foolish human! As if that would be enough!" the Demon snarled and whipped its tail in an attempt to hit the young woman, who not only blocked it with her sword, but severed it as well. This appendage needed to be attached to the main body though and simply fell into the lake. The water doused its flames and the bones crumbled to ash.

Erza slashed at the Demon again only to be blocked by one of the wings. It rotated its whole body to face her and swiped at the redhead with its large claws. The sorceress dodged by flapping her own armour's wings before counter-attacking.

Naruto was still on the surface of the lake and was observing their exchange. He realized she was wearing a different suit of armour yet again. It consisted of three parts – a breastplate, a pair of gauntlets and a pair of greaves. The whole armour was elaborately decorated and painted in three colours – orange, crimson and black. It differed somehow from the others. The breastplate lacked pauldrons and had an appearance reminiscent of a one-piece swimsuit, leaving her shoulders completely exposed. It was coloured in crimson and black and had two flame-like orange decorations, one at her chest and the other circling her waist like a belt.

Around her neck she had an orange collar with a black bottom edge from which two metal straps connected with the back of her breastplate. On it a pair of black and crimson wings were attached, having form similar to those of Dragon wings. The gauntlets were coloured in crimson with the edges around the elbow looking like flames. The greaves had the appearance of Dragon claws and were crimson coloured as well. She had orange knee-guards and black plates extended from them to her lower hips, with the edges having the shape of flames as well. Her scarlet hair was tied in a pair of high pigtails, held by two black clips resembling blazes and she had two bangs framing her face.

Her weapon was a large bastard sword with a crimson blade, having a black handle and a decorated orange hand-guard. Her guild mark could now be seen on the middle of her upper left arm – a blue coloured fairy with its legs outstretched in front and a pair of wings and tail outstretched behind.

Naruto shook his head a bit. How many armours did Erza have? She wasn't kidding when she said she liked them. Did they all frame her body so well? Dispelling those thoughts for now, he continued watching the fight, until he noticed Shika flying right above the Demon. This time a huge grin came to Naruto's face when he caught onto his friend's plan.

Erza blocked a flame blast with her left hand and channelled some of her power to the gauntlet. Sure, this was fire-resistant armour, but a flame with such heat needed extra handling. She saw this as an opportunity and with even more magical energy focused in her arm, she deflected the intense fires. The redhead was about to cut the Demon, when a shout was heard from above them.

"**Sky Dragon's Wings!**" The scarlet beauty looked up to see Naruto, held by Shika's tail tied around his waist with his open right palm pointed at the Demon. A violent whirling air surrounded his arm before it shot out and slammed into the infernal creature. The blast was so strong that it took their adversary to the lake's surface and crushed it into the waters. The spell wasn't finished though as the whirlwind created a maelstrom with the screaming Demon in the centre.

When the waters calmed down they could see the skeletal body crumbling into ash and dissolving in the lake.

Erza looked up "Nicely done. I was just about to slash it."

"Yeah" Naruto smiled as Shika brought him to her level. "It might not have had a huge effect though, like when you cut its neck. I noticed the portion of its tail that you sliced turned to ash when the fire was extinguished, so I thought maybe that's how we could kill it. Some Demons are much trickier to kill, unfortunately."

"You are right, I would have done the same." Erza nodded.

"He-he, what you did was already really awesome!" Naruto gave her a huge grin. "We should get out of here though, before any more of their buddies show up."

They started flying towards the shore before Shika sighed.

"See, I told you it always gets troublesome when you say it's going to be a breeze. Sometimes I think you do it on purpose."

The blond just started laughing while Erza let out a smile.

**!~¡**

The group had resumed walking towards Nebula town on the same road as before. They were still alert of their surroundings, in case the Demons had friends that also felt the need to challenge them. After they had left the clearing with the lake, the thick mist had fallen down again and had completely covered the moon and stars, forcing them to use the lacrima torches to illuminate their way once more.

The atmosphere was dominated by the same eerie silence from when they had first entered the forest. This time Naruto hadn't tried to lighten up the mood though. Erza sneaked another look at the blond. Since the battle had ended, he had become unusually quiet and thoughtful. The redhead was a bit worried he might have been hurt, although he should have been able to heal himself. Maybe it was because they had killed the Demons.

Sensing he was being observed, Naruto turned to Erza and smiled slightly "What's up?"

"Are you all right?"

The blond gave her a confused look "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"You've been unusually quiet since the battle. I thought you might have been injured but.. Was it because we killed them? Was that your first time taking a life?"

"No, of course not!" the blond exclaimed. "I've been doing S-class missions since I was fourteen, so I've faced and killed plenty of Demons before, it's just.." he looked ahead.

"Yes?" Erza lifted an eyebrow. She was quite surprised at what the blond had said. After all, she herself started doing S-class missions when she was fifteen.

Naruto stopped and turned to her "This is the first time one of them thanked me after I had slain it."

"Really? Was it the water one? I saw him grab you right after you plunged your hand through its chest." Now that she heard his reason for being unsettled, she felt the same way.

Naruto nodded slightly "Right, that's when it thanked me before it dissolved in the lake."

"That's interesting" Jiraiya muttered.

"More like troublesome" Shika snorted.

"I don't remember anything like that happening when we faced Demons with Mistgun" the white Exceed continued, ignoring the lazy cat. "I'm sure he would've told you anyway."

"Yeah" Naruto just nodded again. "This has been troubling me since the battle ended. Something's fishy about this job."

Erza placed a hand on his shoulder "There's no use wondering and worrying about it now. I'm sure as we complete this assignment, things will become clearer."

The blond gave her a huge smile "Yeah, you're right. Let's get going, we're not that far from the town, we'll probably reach it in ten to fifteen minutes."

They started walking again, but this time, Naruto broke the silence rather quickly "You know, I was really surprised at your armours. I didn't know you could use one to fly. What were they called?"

Erza smiled "Yeah, among other things. Well, I told you about **The Giant's Armour**. The first one I used, the one that was black and silver is called **Black Wing Armour**. It greatly increases my offensive capabilities as well as granting me the ability to fly." The redhead seized her explanation when she noticed Naruto had stopped and was watching her with wide eyes.

"Now I remember! That armour.. You are Uncle Hans' 'little girl'!" he exclaimed, pointing at her.

Erza's jaw fell slightly and she blushed. "Wha.. How do you know about that? And where do you know Hans from?" The person they were talking about was a very large, muscled man, towering two metres over the ground. He had brown and greying at places short hair as well as a huge beard. He was in his late thirties and also happened to be one of the greatest blacksmiths on the continent, as well as the person that crafted most of her armours and weapons.

"I think the same way you do. He's the one that makes my weapons." Naruto motioned to his kunai. "I needed someone with a lot of skill for the design I had in mind. So I was referred to him by my Rune magic teacher and after I passed his trial, he agreed to make them for me."

Erza remembered how his kunai had extended and turned into a short claymore during his fight with the water Demon and nodded in recognition. Now she was curious about that weapon.. Maybe the blond would give her one so she could inspect it closely and try it out. Then another thought occurred. "Wait, what do you mean trial?" she turned a questioning gaze towards him.

Naruto visibly shuddered at the memory "He called it that and said some nonsense about how his weapons could be wielded only by the strong and pure-hearted. In reality, he just beat me up for an hour in a 'friendly spar'. He also said by wielding his weapons I was also wielding his name and if I stained it, next time it would be for longer."

Erza was quite confused by what she heard. "I never had to pass a trial like that" she muttered looking down.

The blond looked at her surprised, but then a mischievous grin crept on his face "Of course not. You're his 'little girl' after all."

Erza gave him a Look, which was kind of ruined because of her slight blush. "Stop saying that! How do you know about it anyway?"

The young mage just let out a hearty laugh as he recalled his first meeting with Uncle Hans.

**!~¡**

_~!~ _A very battered sixteen year old Naruto slumped into one of the chairs in the smithy. 'Trial of pure heart' his ass. The old man was just bored and looking for an excuse to hit something. The blond couldn't remember the last time he was so exhausted he couldn't actually use his healing magic. He would need to rest and breath calmly for a while, before he could take care of some of the more serious bruising.

Hans had gone into one of the rooms with the sketches and ideas for Naruto's kunai. He had said he needed to think about it for a while and see how to go about the crafting and the types of materials he would need. The blond heard snoring from one of the tables and saw Shika asleep over one of his books. That annoyed the teenager quite a bit. The cat had probably been sleeping peacefully for the past hour, while he was getting his ass whooped. Naruto would get him for that later. For now, he decided to try and see if there was anything interesting in the smithy. He looked around and cursed when bolts of pain shot through his body from the simple movement. He was going to get Hans for this as well.

His eyes fell on an interesting suit of armour. It was black with silver lines on various places and it looked like it had wings attached to it. Grunting, Naruto stood up and went to look it over since he had nothing better to do anyway. When he got closer he saw it was actually quite beautiful and elaborate. It kind of looked like a dress.

"Wonder who this is for.." Naruto muttered as he traced a hand over one of the wings.

"Aaah, I see you noticed my masterpiece!" Hans' booming voice made the blond jump slightly. The blacksmith approached him. "This is the **Black Wing Armour**. I created it from scratch for my little girl." Pride was evident in the middle-aged man's voice.

Naruto lifted an eyebrow "You have a daughter, Uncle Hans? Master never said anything about that."

The blacksmith laughed "No, she's a client. But she's very important to me."

The blond was about to ask what her name was, when Hans placed a massive palm on his shoulder and squeezed it slightly. "Now, Naruto, your Master tells me you're quite the player, so let me warn you.."

"Oh come on!" the teenager interrupted him "It was one girl! And I was drunk, because Master had made me drink alcohol!"

"Still, you asked the girl out by yourself, your Master had nothing to do with that now, right?" Naruto looked down, blushing slightly. "I thought so. Listen, Naruto, this girl has had a hard life and even though she isn't my daughter, she is still very sweet, kind and pure, and also happens to be very precious to me. If you ever meet her, watch it." Hans' hand squeezed the blond's shoulder hard. "Or. Else."

Even though he was wincing from the pain, Naruto still managed to gulp and nod slightly "Gotcha." He decided it wasn't a good idea to ask what her name was right now. Or ever for that matter.

"Great!" Hans' grip immediately loosened. "Now come over here, I've come up with the design of your weapon. Also, one of the materials I need is a bit pricey and considering.." _~¡~_

**!~¡**

Naruto finished his story. Even though she was embarrassed by the way Hans had talked about her, Erza couldn't help but feel really happy about the things the blacksmith had said. He was always kind to her and was interested in her life and if she was doing well, yet the scarlet beauty never suspected she was that important to him. Now that she thought about it, he didn't have any children, so maybe in a way he thought of her as a daughter. Maybe he viewed Naruto in a similar way too. Next time she visited him, she was going to stay a bit longer.

"So I'm guessing the third suit of armour was also made by him? What's it called?" Erza was snapped from her thoughts by Naruto's question.

"The name is **Flame Empress Armour**. It halves the power of fire attacks and I can also use it to deflect them. Like the **Black Wing Armour**, it also grants me the ability to fly for a while."

"It was quite beautiful and elaborate. I'm sure Uncle Hans spent a lot of time on it."

"That's not the only thing that was beautiful and elaborate, hee-hee" Jiraiya snickered.

The blond sent a small glare his way, before he turned back to the redhead "Well, he's not wrong. So how many armours do you have?"

Erza smirked "Over a hundred. I have over two hundred weapons as well."

Naruto whistled "Now that's impressive. Do they all have magical properties? Which one is your favourite?"

"Well.."

"We're here." Erza was sudenly interrupted by Shika. "We can finally get some decent sleep."

And true, they had arrived at Nebula town. They passed by a huge banner with the name, before looking around. The mist was quite thick even here, making the lights coming from the structures and streetlights quite dim. The whole place had a ghost-town look going for it, which was a bit unexpected since this was a popular tourist resort. There wasn't anyone else on the streets except for them and the mages kept on walking on what they assumed was one of the main streets.

"So, know any of the hotels around here? Have you made a reservation somewhere or.." Naruto turned towards Erza.

"No, I wasn't able to get any of the brochures from the Onibas**[1]** train station, because I was running late. I didn't make any reservations either, because I took off the same day I took the assignment. Originally I had planned on picking a hotel while travelling."

"Yeah, our decision to come here was kind of spontaneous as well." Naruto nodded in understanding. "We were still able to look over a few brochures though. Any preferences?"

"As long as the rooms are clean, the bathrooms have hot water, the beds are comfortable and there are no critters, I'm Ok with anything. Money isn't a problem either."

Naruto grabbed his chin in thought and hummed. "Why don't we go to 'The Blue-leafed Clover'? It's an inn that has hot springs." Jiraiya tried his luck.

The blond sighed "How come you know there's an inn with hot springs in every town we go to? I thought you said you've never been here before."

"I haven't. But I always check the brochures of the town we're going to for one. After all, I need to be prepared." Jiraiya took one out. "The place is quite decent and the price isn't too high."

Naruto shook his head and turned to Erza. "It's up to you. I can promise he won't bother you, while you're in the baths at least. We can go somewhere else as well, if you want."

"I don't mind that much, he's a cat. There's nothing he can do really." Erza gave Jiraiya one of her long hard Looks "Although, I better not end up in one of those books of yours."

The white feline shuffled uneasily under the Gaze, before it gulped and chuckled innocently "Heh-heh, of course not. Never even crossed my mind."

Erza nodded and waved her hand decisively "Good. Lead the way then."

**!~¡**

They had checked into the inn without any problems. In fact, the hosts were really happy to see them. Apparently, there weren't many tourists left, because of the Demon sightings and attacks. They had decreased even further when rumours spread a mage guild had been hired to deal with them. After all, no one wanted to be in the middle of a battlefield. Naruto and Erza had each taken a room and after they had settled in, they decided to visit the hot springs. Jiraiya was taken with Naruto and he actually behaved, at least until Erza had left the women's side.

Afterwards, they had changed and Naruto and Shika had picked the redhead up so they could go to dinner. Their rooms were actually next to each other, so in case something happened they could come to each other's help as soon as possible. They had gone to one of the hostesses and she had lead them to a room where they would be served dinner. At least that's what Naruto had thought.

When the door was opened, a fully served table greeted them. There were all sorts of dishes, from various seafood to different types of cooked meat, as well as a huge assortment of salads. There was even a pot, from which the blond's keen senses detected the glorious smell of ramen.

"Fu-fu" Erza smirked, satisfied by Naruto and Shika's shocked expressions "I hope you don't mind. Since we agreed tonight was on me, I took the liberty to order. If there's anything additional you want, don't hesitate to order it."

The Caits turned to her. "You're kidding, right?" Naruto was the first to find his jaw "It looks like you've ordered everything on the menu!"

Without letting go of her smirk, Erza just went to the table and sat down, promptly followed by her temporary partners. "So where's Jiraiya?" she turned to Naruto.

"Do you really want to know something troublesome like that? As long as we don't hear screams, it means everything is fine." Shika snorted before deciding he should focus his attention elsewhere, namely some of the sea-food dishes on the table.

"He's right. Mistgun told us he tends to wander off during the evenings, especially if they were staying at a hot spring. But he returns in the mornings without many problems. Don't worry, he knows how to get me if things go bad.. Or if he finds something." the blond reassured her as he made a pass for the ramen.

Erza nodded and decided she should join them, before the food went cold. After the main course was over, the desserts were brought in, which consisted of several slices of different type of cakes. Like the previous night, the redhead had shown the most enthusiasm about eating them and again like the previous night, neither Naruto nor Shika dared to point it out.

"So what's our plan tomorrow?" Naruto sipped his tea as he looked at his cards. After the dinner was over with, he suggested playing some games like last night to relax a bit.

"First thing in the morning, we'll go meet the client. I usually do it the moment I reach the destination of the assignment, but we arrived late. Besides, we had travelled for two days and engaged in battle, so we didn't have a very presentable look."

"That sounds like a good plan. Maybe it will shed some light on the strange assignment" Naruto nodded.

"I think we should also gather some information from the townspeople afterwards." Shika added as he drew two cards. "Things like when did the attacks start occurring, did anything strange happen, are there suspicious people around."

"That's a good suggestion, we could find out the location from where the Demons are appearing that way" Erza agreed and dropped her cards "Full House." Shika sighed and revealed a flush. They looked expectantly at the blond.

"Two pairs. Of Jacks. So meet the client, ask around, beat the Demons. Sounds good to me." Naruto smiled as he collected the biscuits they were using instead of money. "Jiraiya would actually be able to help a lot with the second part. He has a knack for sniffing out rumours, leads and all sorts of information."

"Oh, so he's not just a pervert then?" Erza's dismay at the loss of sweets was replaced by surprise.

"Of course, he can be really useful sometimes. And he's not that bad of a writer either, just tends to lose focus sometimes and delve too much into the.. spicy portion of his story." Naruto paused the card shuffling and chuckled "I think his perverted nature is a result of the place he was born at."

Erza was once again surprised to see Shikamaru chuckling as well. Curiosity nudging her, she asked "Where was he born at?"

Naruto could barely hold his laughter now, so Shika answered "If you have an Exceed as a guild-mate, then you probably know we hatch from eggs, right?" After receiving the redhead's nod, the black feline continued "His egg somehow ended up at a women's bathhouse. And apparently, it hatched during the rush hour. Now tell me, what would most women do if a cute kitten suddenly showed up in front of them?"

This time Naruto couldn't keep himself from laughing "Born and crushed in a sea of boobs!"

"We think he's trying to recreate the experience." Shika laughed as well.

**!~¡**

The next morning found the group of mages walking towards the town hall. The mist had actually cleared a bit or at least wasn't so thick you would need a knife to cut through it. The day had started normally for Naruto, with him doing his usual training routine after he had woken up. After he had taken a dip in the hot-springs, he met Erza, a sleepy Shikamaru and a grinning Jiraiya for breakfast. During the meal, the white Exceed had started telling them what he had found out during the night.

"Apparently, the Demon sightings had initially occurred four months ago. At first the people thought they were just apparitions from the mist. It wasn't until someone was attacked that they realized they were real Demons. The mayor though had insisted it was still a product of the region and that people were getting paranoid. Obviously, he had been worried rumours of Demons would just scare tourists away, so he tried to convince everyone not to worry and that surely the area would stabilize" Jiraiya made a dramatic pause before he continued eerily.

"It didn't. Attacks increased in frequency and people started going missing. In truth a lot of the townspeople are really worried and had wanted to ask for help sooner. The mayor was still stupidly maintaining things would get better. Apparently, they don't even know he actually asked for help. The last time it was brought up was a week ago when five people at once went missing, yet he still refused."

"So the name of the client on the flyer is actually his?" Naruto asked.

"That's right. Which begs the question what happened to make him change his decision so suddenly?" Jiraiya had a grim expression.

"Naruto was right, you are good at gathering information" Erza lifted an eyebrow "How did you find out all that?"

The white cat turned to her and grinned "Girls talk." Seeing her confused expression, he decided to elaborate "I heard the hostesses talking among themselves about it. They were sharing various rumours on the whole situation and I thought it would be a good idea to listen."

"But they wouldn't talk about that in front of a total stranger, much less someone that could be a tourist." Erza pointed out.

Jiraiya chuckled "Of course not. But I am a cat. Go in, wrap around their legs, snuggle in their chest when they pick you up" his grin became slightly perverted at this part as he continued "purr when they pet you, lick their fingers.. When was the last time you paid any attention to a cute cat doing catty things, even if it is slightly larger? Exactly. So while they absentmindedly play with me, I listen to their conversations, to the rumours going around and pick out things that might be important."

"So that's how you do it. That's actually pretty smart." Naruto commented "The fact you found a way to gather information, while still doing perverted things makes it brilliant."

"But of course, I am the great cat-sage, Jiraiya!" the white Exceed struck a pose, which was promptly ignored by everyone.

"We should go and meet the mayor. I wonder what was the cause behind such sudden change in behaviour" Shika cut in.

"I'm more interested in the fact he didn't ask for help sooner" Naruto frowned. "Maintaining business is one thing, but you should care for your people when they start disappearing."

"Well, I do need to meet the client anyway, to inform him the mage that had accepted his request is here." Erza stood up "So let's go."

And here they were now, entering the town hall. After a couple of _insistent _questions from Erza, they found out the location of the mayor's office. Naruto realized the girl could be very impatient at times, just like him, which was rather surprising. His impression was that she was the cool and collected type, not the short-fuse one.

They went to the second floor and entered a small hall. At the end there was a pair of large wooden doors and before them was a wooden desk, occupied by a young woman wearing glasses with her brown hair tied in a bun.

When they saw her Erza started walking towards her deliberately. She stood in front of the desk and said sternly "I'm here to see the mayor. Is he inside?"

The secretary looked up, eyeing the redhead and the blond, before she opened a calendar notebook "Do you have an appointment? What are your names?"

"We are the mages that accepted his assignment to take care of the Demon problem. He should be expecting us, is he inside?" Erza placed a hand on the desk and leaned slightly, irritation clearly present in her voice for having to ask the same question twice.

"Yes, but I don't see you on the schedule and you can't.." the redhead just turned towards the door and started walking, without even bothering to listen to the secretary.

"Wait! You can't enter without a.." the young brunette stood up hastily and tried to block Erza's way, which was a mistake, since the scarlet beauty just head-butted her, knocking her out immediately. As the poor secretary slumped into the ground, Naruto gaped. What the hell just happened? He blinked and wiped his eyes. Yeah, the secretary was indeed lying on the ground, unconscious.

"Scary.." the blond muttered, while Shika let out a strained sigh.

"See, I told you she was troublesome. You never listen to me."

"You say that about all the women we meet." Naruto absentmindedly said while he bent down and picked a gasping Jiraiya. They would laugh later, now it would be better to go after the redhead, before she ended up knocking out the mayor as well.

"That's because they're all troublesome" the black Exceed had a very irritated look as he followed Naruto.

"Hwat is the meaning of this!" came a voice from inside the mayor's office after Erza had burst in. Naruto almost groaned. Anyone that actually said 'hwat' tended to be an annoying pompous jerk. He entered the room to see a large man with short gray hair standing from his seat and leaning on his desk. His face was round and red from frustration and he had blue eyes along with a double chin. Sweat was pouring from his forehead and Naruto realized his face may have been red, because it was a bit warm in the room. He wore a black suit with a blue shirt and striped tie and had a monocle with a tiny chain attached to one of his pockets.

"Are you mayor Rod Frob?" Erza inquired.

"Who the hell wants to know? And where's Janice?"

"My name is Erza Scarlet from the mage guild Fairy Tail. I have accepted your assignment and came to introduce myself as well as find out more about it."

"Hwat the hell are you talking about? I never posted any assignments asking for mages!"

The redhead's gaze hardened and she approached his desk, glaring at the large man. The mayor felt cold sweat replace the one that was already pouring and he promptly backed off into his chair when the girl stood right in front of him. The look she was giving him intimidated him to no end.

Erza reached for her purse, took out the assignment flyer and slammed it on the desk. "This is your name, right? And this is the Nebula town stamp?" she traced a finger on the paper.

"Hwat is this!" the mayor shouted with new-found bravery at this outrage "I never made such a request! You expect me to pay this much? You thieves! I'm calling the.." the man found himself unable to continue, since Erza's glare intensified and a small portion of magical power started leaking around her.

"What did you call me?" barely restrained anger could be heard in her voice as she leaned forward, making the large man try to defy the laws of physics and shrink in his chair.

"Now, now" Naruto decided it was time he intervened before things got ugly. Who thought _he_ of all people would be in the position of acting as the level-headed one? Usually he was the one that couldn't keep his cool and would go around punching people for pissing him off. "Let's all calm down, I'm sure this can be cleared up quickly."

"A-and who are you?" the mayor managed to find his trembling voice while he looked at the blond.

"I'm Naruto Marvell and these" he motioned at the two Exceed "are Shikamaru and Jiraiya. We are from Cait Shelter and accompanying Miss Scarlet on her assignment to deal with the Demon threat in this town." the blond explained while approaching the desk.

"I made no such.." the large man tried again, but was cut off by the young mage. "Your name is Rod Frob, right? If you look at the flyer, you'll also see the official stamp of the town."

This time the mayor inspected the assignment sheet and indeed his name was there. Not only that, but the town's seal as well as his signature. "How is this possible? I don't remember ever doing something like this."

Shika decided it was his turn to cut in "Whatever is going on, Miss Scarlet has already accepted an official assignment and has taken the duty of finishing it. Upon completion, the designated award must be paid in full to her, as per agreement of the terms with the Magic Council. If you are unhappy I'm sure you can take the issue up with them." The Exceed smirked evilly "Although, an accusation of such a proportion would demand a full investigation. After all, making assignment requests is a serious matter and many mages take them prepared to risk their lives. This one in particular was classified as S-class, so the Council would probably have to freeze all the town's financial accounts until the matter is resolved. And since your name is on the request, then they would put a hold on your assets as well. I'm sure everything would be cleared.. eventually." The large man paled when he heard this.

Naruto couldn't help but smile. His friend knew his stuff as usual. The blond turned towards the mayor "Old man Frob, let us help you. Word about the job has already gone out, so people know there are Demons here. If we take care of them, business would pick up so such an amount wouldn't be a big deal in the long term. Not to mention your people are scared and worried since the attacks have intensified."

Mayor Frob clenched his jaw as he contemplated over everything. The blond was right, they could use the help. And the damage was already done anyway. In truth, twelve million was only fair if the mages did get rid of the Demons. He would find out how this assignment was posted if it was the last thing he did. The old man stood up and went to a large window, overlooking the centre of the town.

"Very well. There's no need to contact the Council, your reward will be paid in full if the job is finished. I don't know how it was posted, but now that it's done it would be foolish to deny it." He turned to Erza "You will have our full cooperation."

The scarlet beauty had calmed down by this point and simply nodded "First, we need to learn more about the attacks and the sightings. Where did they first occur, the frequency, the victims – every bit of information would help us out."

"Captain Pike of the Town Guard would have all that. I will have my secretary get someone to escort you to the Guard House. Anything else?"

"You really don't know anything about this assignment, old man Frob?" Naruto pointed at the flyer "It says _a _Demon, but clearly there is more than one. Not to mention on our way here we were attacked by three of them."

"I told you, boy, this is the first I've heard of this" the mayor frowned at the blond's lack of respect "How did you menage to survive anyway, you must be extremely lucky."

"What, those guys? They were no big deal. We are just that awesome!" Naruto boasted.

Frob was surprised, but didn't show it. Instead he turned to the window and smirked. So that was the power of a mage. He had read a report about three guardsmen fighting and being slaughtered by a single Demon and these children were able to defeat three on their own. Maybe they would really be able to help.

"If that is all, I suggest you get going. Janice!" the mayor shouted and his brunette secretary appeared at the door, stumbling a bit, obviously still in shock from being knocked-out. "Yes, sir?"

"Arrange an escort for these mages to the Guard House. Relay a message to captain Pike to cooperate fully with them and give them any information they need to know."

"Understood, sir." The secretary glared at the two mages and more pointedly at Erza "Follow me."

The mages started walking after the brunette and went down the stairs. Naruto noticed she still had some difficulty walking and ran up to her, placing a glowing finger on her forehead. The young woman gasped "What the hell do.. you.." She stopped midway, realizing her headache was gone.

"Better?" Naruto gave her a bright smile.

The brunette blushed and looked away, nodding slightly "Yeah. Thank you." They continued walking until they reached the doors of the Town Hall and the secretary approached a short guardsman and started talking with him. After a bit, both of them returned and he introduced himself "I'm Private Stan. Janice has given me instructions to lead you to Captain Pike. This way." The mages just nodded and started following him. On their way though, Naruto fell back a bit and motioned to Erza to do the same, before turning to Jiraiya.

"Anything?"

The white Exceed shook his head "A couple of reports related to the Demons from a 'Captain Pike', a bottle of scotch and the rest looked town and tourist related. I didn't have too much time to look over everything, but I also found the Nebula town stamp, so it wasn't stolen."

Erza raised an eyebrow "What are you talking about?"

Jiraiya grinned "While you were talking with the mayor I went through his desk for anything of interest that might help us."

"What? How, when?"

"After the mayor stood up from his desk and went to his window." The feline winked "I told you, no one pays attention to a cat."

"Don't worry, he didn't take anything." Naruto cut in "But the whole thing is fishy and the mayor might have been hiding something. If he didn't make the request, then who?"

"Well, it must have been someone with access to his office. The most likely suspect is the secretary, although there might be others as well" Shika joined in. "It doesn't matter for now though, I think we should focus more on the assignment."

"What are you thinking?" Naruto asked his friend.

"Obviously, we'll be going to the Guard House. I think we'll learn a lot about the Demons, the attacks and the sightings from there. However, sometimes not everything reaches the authorities." the lazy Exceed turned towards Jiraiya "I think it would be best if we split up. Since you're the best among us at picking out information from the streets, you should go around town and look for any interesting rumours or things the guardsmen might have missed. In the meantime, the rest of us will try to find a pattern or location from the reports."

"That's a very good plan. Let's go with it." Erza now started to see how the trio of Caits were actually a very good team. Jiraiya would find out information, Shikamaru would do the planning and Naruto was the muscle. That's not to say the blond was stupid. In fact from what she saw from the battle and the games they had played during the evenings, Erza had realized he was actually quite cunning. It's just that they were in tune with each other and everyone had his job in the team. She briefly wondered what the other Cait Shelter members were like.

"Great!" Naruto exclaimed. "I think Jiraiya should come with us to the Guard House just to see its location before he departs though. It would save him the time of looking for it if he finds anything. Also, the assignment is serious, so please stay focused, there will be time for other things when we're done."

"Hmpf, you don't need to tell me. You know I'm always focused when the job is serious." the cat huffed before he noticed the look Naruto was giving him. "Ok, mostly focused."

"Just keep it together" the blond responded as they reached a building looking like a small fort. It had a large banner over the arching gateway, on which the words 'Nebula Town Guard' were written. Seeing it, Jiraiya let out his wings and flew away, giving the group a small wave. Naruto, Erza and Shika kept following the guardsman and entered the building.

**!~¡**

*****They speak in a different language. Just read it as regular English with fancy characters.

**[1]**Onibasu – gorgon plant; prickly water lily (jap.)

**!~¡**

**Author's Ramblings: **Quick note, sex wasn't invented by mankind, but by nature, so it doesn't count as one of mankind's creations, rather one of nature's. ^^

I love describing Erza's armours. They are quite elaborate and it is actually a challenge. I think that's why I get into it so much.

SPOILER ALERT: I think one of my favourite FT characters is probably Laxus. His expression in chapter 269? Priceless. I laughed so much at team B's imaginations in chapter 270. I wonder how would Levy react if she knew Gajeel had such fantasies about Lucy. I'm disappointed at Natsu though. I hope team B wins.

As for Naruto, typical Kishi-sensei. I liked the ending of 573 though, very symbolic. I bet Sasuke will use the commotion to attack Konoha now and get his revenge. I say, I'm quite happy I won't have to write Hinata in this story. END OF SPOILER ALERT

Since Shika and Jiraiya are preoccupied in Nebula, they won't be helping me in answering questions today. So I'll just do this quick and go to sleep. So tired. On second thought most of the question are going to answer themselves with the story later on, so I think I'll hold back the Q&A session. Sorry, ladies and gentleman, just too sleepy. I think I answered some of you in PM, I might have forgotten someone.. Sorry about that, my memory's kind of short. I'll do that now.

Oh yeah, just a quick address to a reviewer, **Silently Watching**. This was actually brought up by my beta as well. First, thanks for the review, I don't mind critiques at all, especially if they can help improve the quality of the story. I mind senseless flaming and yours wasn't. My goal for using the obscure words isn't to sound intelligent or anything silly like that. As I've said, it's just a game for me, to try and incorporate 'The word of the day' from my phone. It actually helps me remember them and also helps a lot with the story. How you might ask? Well, the lake scene last chapter didn't exist initially. I created it after thinking of how I could include the word 'bleb'. And you see what was born from something simple like that. I think you're right about the referencing part though, so I won't be doing that anymore probably. I didn't use as many words this chapter as well, because some of what I got could not be sensibly used and the rest I already have plans to use at certain moments later on.

Anyway, that's it for now. I hope you enjoyed Chapter 6 of **'Fairy Tail's Orange Flash'**. Don't forget to review to tell me you did (≥▽≤)y

**!~¡**


	7. Chapter 7 Caits looking for Demons

**!~¡**

Hello, hello, my dear beautiful readers !~

Apologies for the delay, I decided to finish up the arc and then post the chapters in shorter intervals. I wanted to write it down and take a step back to see how it was written. In any case, chapter 8 is being checked for mistakes and stuff like that and will be posted in.. I don't know, three days or something? Maybe when I get over 200 reviews? Eh ╮(╯▽╰)╭

There is another reason this chapter was delayed, but more on that at the bottom, in my **author's ramblings.** There's also going to be another **Q&A session**, since some of you missed it last time. You peeps are probably excited about the story, so without further ado I present you Chapter 7 of **'Fairy Tail's Orange Flash'**.

Enjoy ~

**!~¡**

Chapter 7: Caits looking for Demons

**!~¡**

The clear late-morning sky made a certain Exceed quite happy. Without the presence of the mist, he could fly over the bustling streets and observe the people with no trouble. Even with the reduced flow of tourists there were still quite a lot of people going around and taking the sights of the beautiful resort. Although most of the guided tours that took groups out of the town were cancelled because of the threat, there was an abundance of stores, cafes, and restaurants to occupy the time of Nebula's visitors.

The cat himself used the opportunity to look at the sights, particularly taking notice of the female population circling around the town. The warm summer sun and the clear weather had made them dress lightly to his enormous pleasure. He even noticed two young women in mini-skirts, chatting happily while looking around the various clothing stores. Target acquired.

Folding his wings, he made a nose-dive towards the ground, picking up great speed in the process. Just before the impact with the ground he pulled up, passing by the two ladies with the generated wind blowing their skirts up. They let out an embarrassed scream and quickly covered themselves, but it was all too late.

"Uhi-hi-hi-hi" Jiraiya giggled perversely, burning the product of the 'unfortunate accident' into his mind. He was glad he was alone right now, since Naruto would have probably scolded him. Shika would have muttered his signature word in a generally uncaring manor. And as for the third member of their temporary group.. Jiraiya shivered a bit, imagining her reaction. Even though she had let him to his own devices so far, the white Exceed had no doubt Erza would have labelled his maneuver as inappropriate and would have proceeded into physically scolding him.

Still, she was by far one of the most beautiful young ladies he had come across of so far. Even though he knew it would be quite dangerous to do so, he planned on using her as a template for one of his characters. It was easier to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission after all. The only problem so far was that she was quite wary of him so he couldn't take an appropriate peek. Then again, with the way she changed between her armours it was only a matter of time.

Thinking of that, he remembered the battle with the Demons at the lake. Without a doubt Erza was strong and Jiraiya even had the sneaking suspicion she hadn't been serious at the time. It was nice for a change to have some back-up, especially since it looked like this job was actually going to be quite dangerous. He briefly wondered what it would be like to see a serious Titania. If she was anything like Naruto, then it would have probably ended in a second. What if the two of them had a spar?

Engaged in a heated battle, the two of them slashing at each other, each swing narrowly missing critical locations but at the same time tearing their clothes. Their bodies would be covered in sweat, their breathing would be hard and each attack would bring them closer and closer to each other. The redhead would change her armour, briefly exposing herself for a moment and causing the blond to stumble and fall over her, taking both of them by surprise. They would look into each others' eyes and feel the heat radiating from their pressed bodies, their lips inching closer and closer..

That was it! His next book would start just like that – two mages meet and engage in a fight, deciding later on to work together, their relationship blossoming from physical attraction into emotional affection. This was going to be a best-seller, better than any book before, even the one he had used Naruto as the template. And with the profits, he would take a nice vacation somewhere outside of the country until things cooled off.

At this point Jiraiya realized something had been tugging at the back of his mind. Wasn't there something he was supposed to be doing? Oh right, gather information. The Exceed quickly ran a list of places where the rumour mills would be gathered. It was a bit early for the hot springs and since it was approaching noon maybe he should go around the cafes. Preferably those that had waitresses with short skirts.

**!~¡**

After checking in at the front desk, Naruto, Erza and Shika followed the Private to the second floor. Shika had muttered it was troublesome to climb the stairs so he had opted for lying on Naruto's head whence he observed the surroundings. They had passed by a large room with many tables and chairs where around ten guardsman sat while having a snack or writing a report. That was most likely the mess hall.

On the second floor they reached a white door that had a sign 'Captain of the Guard' on it. Their guide knocked and opened it after hearing an "Enter!" Naruto and Erza followed with the blond ducking slightly as to not hit his friend. The Captain's office had a rectangular shape with yellowing walls and a wooden floor. A fireplace was installed on the left wall. Two couches faced each other in front of the fireplace with a small coffee table between them. The Captain's desk sat in front of a window on the right wall, a nice view of the town beyond the pane of glass. Stacks of papers stood on each side of the desk, the mages noting several pictures frames depicting various guardsmen and what appeared to be a happy family at the corners. Behind the photos and between the papers sat a man signing a document with a pen. He was in his mid-thirties with short light-brown hair that had a few white strands here and there. Green eyes with dark circles around them signified he had been staying late recently. He looked up slightly before going back to his paperwork.

"Sir" the Private saluted and after he was waved off he promptly continued "There was an assignment posted asking for the assistance of a Mage guild in dealing with the Demon threat. These are the mages that have answered it and mayor Frob has instructed we give them our full co-operation."

The man behind the desk lifted his head and regarded the mages with a shocked expression. He looked over them for a couple of moments, before turning to the other guardsman "Thank you, Private Stan. Will that be all?"

"Yes, sir!" the Private saluted, before turning and going out. The older man stood up and gave a salute himself.

"My name is Jason Pike. I am Captain of the Nebula Town Guard. Looks like we will be working together from now on."

"My name is Erza Scarlet and I am from Fairy Tail" the redhead gave him a short nod.

"I am Naruto Marvell from Cait Shelter. And this is Shikamaru" the blond motioned to his friend still lying on his head.

"Please, make yourselves comfortable" the Captain motioned to two chairs as he sat in his own. After the two mages were seated, he carried on "I didn't know mages from different guilds could take on assignments together."

The two looked at each other, before Naruto spoke "Actually, she is the one that has taken the assignment. I was on my way here to offer my assistance, without knowing there had been a job posted and we met on the way. After we discussed it, it was decided I would accompany her."

"Well, as long as you've figured it out" the Captain nodded. "To be honest, this is the first I've heard of such an assignment. I've tried convincing the mayor before, but he is a pretty stubborn person and just told me to take care of it on my own. I have to say, I am glad he changed his mind."

Naruto and Erza looked at each other again and this time the redhead was the one that spoke. "Actually Captain, you should be familiar with the security of the Town Hall and particularly the mayor's office. Do you know who has access to it?"

Pike raised an eyebrow at the question, but answered regardless "Well, there's the mayor of course and his secretary. I myself have access to it as well and I think that's all. Oh and the janitors I suppose. Why?"

"The thing is, the mayor wasn't the one that posted the request. We've discussed with him and he had no idea the assignment even existed. He has no idea who could have done it as well." Erza explained as she took out the flyer and showed it to the Captain. The man took it and studied it for a bit, focusing on the stamp. After a moment he returned it.

"I don't know what to tell you, I can at least say the stamp is authentic. The signature looks like his as well. Maybe if you asked your Magic Council who exactly made the request.." he trailed off.

"We can do that, but the priority right now is dealing with the Demons." the redhead waved her hand dismissively.

"Very well. The Town Guard will help out however we can. What do you need?"

"If I may." Shika spoke up as he jumped from Naruto's head onto the desk in front of the Captain, making him jump slightly in surprise.

"Y-you.. You can talk!" the man pointed at the cat with a shocked expression.

"I am an Exceed, my kind can fly as well." he turned a questioning gaze at the redhead, who understood what he meant and simply nodded with a small smile. "If you could give us all of your reports of the Demon sightings and attacks, starting from the earliest one possible. Even those that might have been attributed to the magical area, everything suspicious would be good."

"I have some of the recent reports here. I will arrange for the rest to be brought here. Anything else?"

"A map of the town and the nearby surroundings and a big board with pins. Also, which is the biggest and most visited area of the Guard house?"

"That would be the mess hall, but I don't.."

"I think it would be best if we set the board there. That way as many of the guardsman as possible would be able to take a look at it and someone might remember something related to the case. The largest map you have would be best."

The Captain nodded at the confusing request and stood up. He started collecting some papers, putting them in a stack that grew progressively in size before handing it to Naruto "These are the most recent reports from the past month."

He motioned for the mages to follow him as he exited the room. Naruto looked at the stack of paper in his hands. There were so many. And these were just _some_ of the reports for the last month? Frowning, he followed after Erza who picked Shika up from the desk.

They went down to the mess hall where Pike gave orders to a couple of the guardsmen. Twenty minutes later there was a huge map set on a board over one of the walls. On the nearest table there were a couple of boxes filled with the reports of the previous months.

"This is everything you've asked for. We've even gathered the reports for the past six months even though the first Demon sighting was four months ago." the Captain told them.

"So many of them.. There must be hundreds. Are all of them related to the Demons?" Naruto turned towards Pike.

"Most" the man clenched his jaw and looked at the boxes.

"How many victims were there? Why haven't you asked for help sooner?" the blond frowned.

"I tried convincing the mayor but he wouldn't budge. At first he insisted they were just products of the mist and when the attacks started he would only order us to take care of it. As they increased, so did his convictions that we would deal with it ourselves."

"Those weren't any ordinary attacks from bandits. They were Demons, not something ordinary people can just deal with!"

"I know that! I even lost some of my men to those bastards!"

"Then why didn't you ask for help? Even if the mayor was stubborn or greedy, you could have bypassed him and contacted the Council! You're Captain of the Guard, your duty is to the people, not.."

"Enough!" One of the guardsmen that had been listening suddenly shouted. "Don't think you can just come here and start talking like you know everything! If the Captain did that he would have lost his job and he has a family to take care of. His wife.."

"Sergeant." Pike spoke warningly making the other man stop. He was tall, with short curly brown hair and a beard. After hearing his Captain he immediately stood at attention and saluted.

"Sir! Forgive my intrusion, sir!"

The Captain sighed "That's all right, Sergeant Jameson. You can go back to your post, we'll handle things from here on. Same goes for all of you, maggots!" He turned towards the hall. "If you're not off duty or on a break, get to work!"

A sudden commotion followed Pike's words, with everyone scrambling to get as far away as possible. Soon there were only a few guardsmen left who were on a lunch break and sitting as far away as possible, suddenly finding their food the most interesting thing in the hall.

Erza approached Naruto and placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it tightly. He turned to her, meeting her accusing eyes and the two looked at each other for a few moments. The blond let out a sigh and turned towards the Captain.

"I'm sorry, Captain. I was out of line."

The older man let another sigh and sat down on one of the chairs, facing the huge map of the city. "No, no. You were right. My duty is to the people of the town and I acted selfishly" he paused licking his lips, before continuing. "My wife has a weak heart. Recently her condition has been getting worse, so she can't move a lot and has to lie in bed for the bigger part of the day. We have two children and we're relying only on my salary for her medications and the family expenses. If I lost my job.." He clenched his teeth, not wanting to continue that trail of thought.

The brief silence that followed was broken by Naruto. "I don't think it's wrong for a man to take care of his family. In fact, what kind of father and husband would you be if you didn't do just that?"

"But I am the Captain of the Guard. I should prioritize the townsfolk rather than my family. The needs of the many shouldn't be shadowed by the needs of the few."

"That's wrong!" Naruto suddenly snapped making everyone present look at him in surprise. "It's easy to say things like that if you think of people as numbers! Your family might be 'few' but to you they are the most important people. As a father you did the right thing. And you didn't neglect your duties, you still tried to stop the Demons, right?"

"I think we should focus at the task at hand. All of that is in the past, there's no point in thinking about it now" Erza intervened.

"You're right, sorry" the blond nodded. "What now, Shika?"

"We go over all the reports from the last six months, mapping all of the Demon appearances. Use yellow pins for suspected sightings that might have been a product of the mist, green pins just for confirmed sightings and red pins for attacks."

"Some of the attacks resulted in injured people, others in death. There were also quite a few disappearances and kidnappings. Should those be marked with different coloured pins as well?" the Captain asked.

"Yes, I guess red for deaths, blue for injuries and purple for unexplained disappearances and kidnappings. Also, look for anything suspicious or having any sort of connection that might link some of the cases. Like the first responders, the guardsmen that did the investigations, the witnesses, anything that might shed light and give us a better clue with what we are dealing."

Naruto looked over the boxes filled with paper and groaned "This is going to take forever."

"Maybe I should ask some of my people to come and help" the Captain suggested.

"No, we can't take them away from their duties, it would be better if they stayed on their posts to protect the people. We can handle this by ourselves. You should go back to your work as well, Captain. You must have important things to do." Shika reasoned, much to Naruto's dismay.

"Until this threat is dealt with and the people are safe, nothing is more important. Plus, I've gone over each one of these reports, so I think I should be able to help you out."

"All right. Me and the Captain will start with the reports from six months ago. You two start from the most recent ones and we'll meet in the middle."

Naruto and Erza nodded as they cut the stack of paper they had gotten upstairs in half, each taking one.

"I hate reading" the blond groaned.

"Really? That's surprising to hear, how come?" Erza lifted an eyebrow.

"I've had bad experiences with it."

"How can you have bad experiences with reading? What, did the books explode in your face or something?"

"Ugh, just remembering it.." Naruto paled slightly and shuddered, making the redhead give him an amused look. "Let's just say my Rune magic Master is a slave driver."

Some time passed before the blond spoke again. "This is going to be a loooooong day. I wish there was a spell with which I could make copies of myself that would help us."

"Fu-fu.. like such a thing could exist." Erza giggled.

**!~¡**

Jiraiya let out a disappointed sigh as he exited the clothing store. So far nothing interesting had come up. He had gone around several cafes and restaurants, listening in on the staff's conversations and from time to time sneaking under some of the tables occupied by customers (the fact said customers were female and wore skirts was a happy coincidence) until mid-afternoon. As the day moved on, he had decided to change tactics and try another method. Luckily he had found a group of six women going around stores so he decided to follow them, most recently into a clothing store.

This was the problem sometimes though. Sure, women were the prime fuel of the Rumour Mill, yet ever so often they spoke of utterly useless things. If he had to hear another conversation about someone's romantic woes or what her boyfriend did, the white Exceed would gag. As a consolation he had managed to do some research by sneaking around the changing rooms, but that did little to lift up his mood. Jiraiya hated not having results and not even a hot spring full of beautiful naked women would help him with that. Then again, if Erza was in it..

Thinking of that, maybe he should try the hot springs now, there should be more people at this hour. Or maybe he could look for a casino. The Town Hall was a good spot as well. While he was contemplating his next location, he passed by an alley where a couple of children were talking excitedly.

"I'm telling you, the Martel mansion is haunted. You can hear strange eerie sounds coming from it throughout the day." A large boy around the age of twelve with brown hair and black eyes spoke loudly.

"That can't be. Dad said the mansion has been abandoned for years. And how would you know anyway Tyler, you'd have to go out of the town to see it." A smaller boy with short blond hair and green eyes said.

"Nick's brother was there."

"That's right, my older brother went to the mansion with his buddies and they heard noises and saw strange silhouettes moving around." A boy with long black hair spoke. "Are you calling him a liar?"

"If you don't believe him, we could go see for ourselves." Tyler smirked "Unless you are too scared, David?"

The blond boy looked uncertain at first, before gaining a confident expression "Me, scared? Ha! Let's go."

"But brother," a smaller blonde girl with long wavy hair and green eyes tugged David's shirt "Dad said not to get out of the town. And we should be going back home soon."

"Oh look, Daddy's little girl is too scared to come. You should just stay here, girls would slow us down anyway." Tyler mocked.

"Don't be such a baby, Lisa" her brother reprimanded her before he started walking away.

"Big brother.." the little girl turned her teary eyes to the ground, before she was hugged by an older girl with short red hair and blue eyes.

"Don't worry, Lisa. I'll come with you."

"Aaah, Eleanor!" Tyler whimpered "W-who said you could come?"

"I did" the redhead retorted, cracking her fingers "If there's a problem I could always beat you up" she grinned wickedly.

"N-no.. No, you can come."

"Great! Better keep up, boys!"

Jiraiya had regarded the whole scene while sitting on the ledge of a nearby window. For some reason that tomboy reminded him of both Naruto and Erza. Were all redheads this violent? He silently contemplated what he had heard. That mansion was certainly interesting and worth looking into. But the kids going out of the town was definitely dangerous. What to do, what to do..

For now he decided to follow them. He was going to observe them and make sure they kept out of danger. If things went wrong, he could always call Naruto. Better yet, he would do that the moment they reached the mansion. Jumping from the ledge he spread his wings and went after the children from above.

By the time the group of kids had reached the outskirts of the city it was already late afternoon with the famous Nebula mist starting to descend over the town and surrounding area. That could have posed as a problem for Jiraiya, since it meant he would need to trail them closer or run the risk of losing them. Of course, that increased the risk of him being discovered, but that was still better than the alternative. He would just work his usual charms and sweet-talk his way into making them believe he was a cat angel, sent to battle the Demons or something.

The group followed an old road going deeper into the forest. As they went farther away from the town, the mist became thicker and combined with the unstable magic in the area and the rays of the setting sun that had painted the scenery orange, strange forms had begun to appear. Some of the trees looked like they had faces, their eyes seemingly following the children and at some point Jiraiya swore he could actually hear the bark making noises from the movements.

The small group of brave explorers had somewhat lost their enthusiasm and their hesitation grew with each following step. As they passed by the silhouette of a creature that looked like a horse with the exception of two deer horns on its head and flames instead of eyes, something Jiraiya had named 'the stagcorn', one of the boys, Nick if he remembered correctly spoke warily.

"M-maybe.. Maybe we should go back."

"It's late! Mom will be worried." Lisa pleaded with a trembling voice. The little girl had wanted to go back since the moment they had left, but Eleanor's support and the fact she didn't want to be a nuisance to her brother had stopped her from voicing her desires. Until now.

"It will be dinner time soon.." David trailed off, looking uneasily at the others.

"Ha! What's the matter, don't tell me you guys are scared." Tyler laughed at them.

"I'm not!" Eleanor snapped at him "But this has gone too far already. We should go back, there might be Demons nearby."

"Yeah, that's true." Everyone froze at those words. After a brief moment of silence that seemed like it lasted an eternity, Nick spoke with a shaky voice.

"Um.. D-David, did you say that?"

"N-no."

"T-Tyler?"

The large boy slowly shook his head. Everyone turned to Eleanor, who held Lisa's trembling form and in return was being crushed by the little girl. A silent question and answer were exchanged between the children, even though it was obvious the words hadn't come from the girls since the voice had clearly been male.

"M-maybe you are right, we should go back home." Tyler spoke and the children started turning back only to face the silhouette of a large horned figure, slightly obscured by the thick mist.

"Oh, but what's the rush? It's not like anything is going to eat you." The same male voice as before came from it as it made a couple of steps towards them, coming more clearly in focus. It was around two meters tall and had the upper body of a man with well-defined and toned muscles. Its lower body was that of a goat and its fur was coloured brown with a tail reminiscent of a lion's swishing behind it. Its face looked human, except for the pointy ears and it had a big brown beard reaching as far as its chest. Its hair was short and very curly and its horns were very peculiar – the left one was straight while the right one was extremely curved, like the one of a ram. The most unnerving feature was the eyes – they were goat eyes, yet the children had never felt so terrified while they were looking at them. There was the creepy smile too.

"I know!" Another male voice, similar to the first one came from behind the children making them jump and turn rapidly. Before them was the same creature with the only exception being the places of the horns were reversed. "If you are so scared, why don't we keep you company?"

"An excellent idea, brother" the first one spoke as it closed in on the children and started circling them.

"Who.. Who are you?" Eleanor seemed to have found her voice by that moment, an act of bravery which made the rest of the kids huddle closer to her.

"Us? No one of importance." One of the creatures spoke. Both of them were going circles around them so by now the children were confused which was which. "My name is Pif."

"And mine is Tif."

"And together we are the Demon brothers Pif and Tif/Tif and Pif!" After both of them finished the introduction by striking a pose, they began glaring at each other.

"Hey, how come you said your name first? We agreed we were going to say mine first." Pif/Tif said.

"Nu-uh! I won the game last night, so mine should be first." Tif/Pif pointed a finger accusingly at his brother.

"But I won the two before that so I have the overall better score."

"If you count the ones before that.."

At this point the children's wayward minds had started returning to them as they slowly began realizing these two might be idiots and this was an opportunity to escape. They looked at each other and with a nod of confirmation began moving away. Until they were frozen in place by a third voice, this time a female one.

"What are you two idiots doing?" The Demon brothers stopped bickering and everyone turned to where the voice originated from. A tall voluptuous woman came into view. She had straight dirty-red hair that fell loosely over her shoulders and at that point ended any similarity with the human race. Her skin was pale, almost white, glistering from the small sunlight coming through the mist. Her eyes were completely red and glowing, without an iris or a pupil and her whole porcelain face gave off the impression of a cold, impassionate glare. She had light-red mascara and her lips were touched with a pink-reddish colour, making them stand out on her pale skin. The most noticeable feature though was what looked like a third vertical eye on the centre of her forehead, that glowed the same way as her regular eyes. It was partly covered by her red locks with black tattoo-like markings circling around it and continuing down the sides of her face, pointing to her other eyes as if linking them all together. Two horns came out of the top of her head and pointed down, going vertically over a pair of pointy ears.

Her beautiful body was barely covered by what looked like a one piece armoured corset, decorated in red and black with defined muscles over her flat stomach. On her hands she had a pair of armoured gloves, although one couldn't be too sure if her hands didn't actually look like that, judging by the sharpened claws at the top of her slender fingers. Her legs were wrapped in high-heeled boots that went up to her upper hips, completing an image of sensual elegance. That image was slightly shattered by a pair of very large wings sprouting from her back. The arms were quite thick with a pair of skulls at the points where they were connected to her body, right behind her shoulders. The wings themselves looked more like three huge bladed claws connected by a red, glowing membrane that had many holes at the bottom, giving off a ragged impression.

The Demoness exuded an aura of power and vehemence that seemed to draw in the boys despite the terrifying appearance. The girls themselves could feel the same thing, although not with the same degree of strength.

"Lady Akasha" Pif and Tif saluted, which for some reason served to annoy the Demoness as her intense look seemed to gain a degree of coldness to it. "We were just offering these children our company.." Tif/Pif started.

"..because they seemed like they were scared, alone in this misty forest.." Pif/Tif continued for his brother.

"..and we introduced ourselves, but Tif screwed up our ceremony by saying his name first.."

"..and I was telling Pif that my name should be first because.."

"Enough." Akasha's voice shot like a whip, hitting the brothers into silence. The Demoness made a few slow steps towards the group, moving her hips in an elegant, exaggerated manner. She directed her eyes over the children and each one of them felt a shiver go down their spines, although they weren't sure whether it was because of the coldness of the stare or something else entirely.

"And what is a group of children doing in the middle of a mist-filled forest when it is almost dark and there is a threat of Demons looming in it? Either you are all really brave.. or really stupid." Her query seemed to snap Eleanor from her daze who despite the grim situation felt annoyed by the Demoness' question.

"Why should we tell you? And who are you anyway?"

Akasha narrowed her eyes at the girl and stretched one of her wings, making one of the blades stop right below her chin "Quite the mouth you have there, girly. Maybe I should take care of it, teaching you some manners in the process." to emphasize her point she pressed the blade harder, making the slightest of cuts, producing a single drop of blood. Eleanor's eyes widened as she felt the prick and the girl let out a small terrified whimper as she ceased to breathe altogether. Her legs started trembling and tears threatened to fall down her cheeks when she realized how close to death she actually was.

"We were just going to the Martel mansion. We wanted to see if it was really haunted. Please don't hurt us!" Lisa pleaded hastily, seeing the danger her friend was in.

"It's good to see at least one of you has proper manners. I would just hate going through the trouble of showing you all the proper way to act." Akasha retracted her wing, whilst taking the drop of Eleanor's blood. She moved the tip of the blade over her mouth and let the droplet fall into it. "Mmm, the Martel mansion.. Isn't that..?" She looked over to Pif and Tif which made the brothers smile.

"This is great, we were just heading there ourselves!"

"We can show you the way, it won't be any problem."

"Um.. T-that won't be necessary, we should be going home.." David tried, but was interrupted.

"Nonsense, it won't be any problem at all!"

"And we would keep anything scary away from you." Pif/Tif said as he went over to Eleanor and picked her up from the ground, helping her stand on her shaky legs. The girl had fallen down to her knees and her whole body had started trembling the moment Akasha had let go of her. Not one of the children dared pointing out that there were plenty of scary individuals already around them. The Demon brothers turned expectantly to the Demoness.

She looked at them impassively, before the corners of her lips went up into the slightest of smiles "But of course, it would be irresponsible to leave a couple of children alone wondering in a forest. Who knows what might befall them." She tilted her head slightly and looked up towards the trees, the Demon brothers catching what she meant. "We will escort you to the mansion." She finished with a finality in her voice that left no room for any objection. The brothers gave out a happy shout and motioned for the children to start walking. Akasha nonchalantly looked up once more before following the group.

Up on one of the branches Jiraiya wiped the plentora of drool coming from his mouth. Holy shit, that Demoness was hot! He urgently sprouted his wings and followed her, still trying to keep some sort of stealth and distance. His eyes had almost fallen off when he was going over her gorgeous body, removing the skimpy clothing and going into various imaginations of what she looked like underneath it. He hoped that if he followed he would actually get the chance of seeing it.

Somewhere in the back of his head, a voice was telling him he should be more concerned with the children's safety. Yet it wasn't that loud and Jiraiya reassured himself that he would just call Naruto if it was needed. And hey, there was a big chance the Demons themselves would lead them to their base, which would actually be a great breakthrough. Satisfied with his reasoning, Jiraiya's eyes firmly planted themselves on Akasha's body.

**!~¡**

The sound of high heels hitting the marble floor could be heard in the gloomy corridor. The boots responsible for the noise belonged to a figure that slowly made its way to an iron door, her path barely lit by a few candles placed on candlesticks on the wall. She cringed her nose, detecting the first signs of a horrible stench coming from the other side and steeled herself for the inevitable clash with it.

She lifted her hand and pushed the heavy iron door which let out a loud creak from its rusty hinges. Even though she had prepared, a look of disgust was still painted on her face when the foul smell surrounded her and went over her whole body.

"Lilith! What is the meaning of this? I specifically ordered I am not to be disturbed while I am working." A voice came from a blue-robed figure that was currently hunched over a bubbly cauldron, one of many in the room. In fact, there were many more bubbling concoctions in many vials of various shapes and sizes over several tables. The whole room looked like an alchemical disaster just waiting to happen.

Shuddering, Lilith let out her enormous ethereal wings and waved them slightly, making the green misty smell go away from her body and return to its master. She wore a black dress with a leather corset that wrapped around her lithe waist and accentuated her cleavage. Her shoulders were covered and spikes were coming out of her right arm, seemingly from her skin. She had a black wrist guard on her left hand with a blood red rose painted over it and a long well-done crimson manicure. The lower portion of the dress consisted of a long flowing skirt that covered her legs completely. On its sides the dress had multiple rings connected to each other with chains and the front had red lace decorations in the form of roses.

Her raven hair was tied behind her head in a giant elaborate bun with two horns framing it on each side and many strands of hair loosely falling around. Her eyes lacked pupils and glowed in a sky-blue colour, her lips were touched with a crimson lipstick that made them stand out on her beautiful but serious face. Overthrowing the urge to bathe in a pool of acid to get rid of the disgusting feeling, the Demoness turned a defiant glare towards the hat wearing person.

"You also said we should bring you any new information, Wright. But I will leave if you don't want to hear it."

"Watch your tone, Demon!" The mage rapidly turned around and Lilith felt a sudden piercing headache, one so severe that it made her fall to her knees. She clutched her head and let out a scream while the blue-clad man made his way towards her. "Are you implying I don't know what I've said? That I'm insane!" He kicked her in the face, making her sprawl on the ground. "I am not insane, do you hear me!" He delivered several more kicks as he continued shouting.

Unable to say anything beyond a pained scream because of the pressure in her head, all that Lilith could do was glare at him, her eyes promising a painful death the moment she had the slightest of chances. That actually made the mage stop and a set of teeth could be seen on his face. Even though it was shadowed by the hat, one could tell that he was grinning maniacally at the Demoness.

"That look! I love that look. Such defiance, such fire, you're not like the rest of your stupid kind. I am going to enjoy shattering it after we're done here, especially those wonderful screams of despair" he let out an insane laughter for a bit before Lilith felt the headache disappear. "Speak now, what have you found?"

The Demoness lifted herself slightly on her hands before she spoke "The Demons you sent after the mages were killed."

"Did they at least manage to wound one of the mages?"

"Not from what I could gather."

"Hmph, useless" the man snorted. "Well, considering it was Titania that came, it's pretty much what I expected. Is that all?"

Even though she was annoyed by the blatant admittance by Wright that he sent her kin knowing they'd die, she continued "The second mage is Naruto Marvell."

"Hmm, he sounds familiar. Is he from Fairy Tail as well?"

"No, he's from Cait Shelter and is also known as the Orange Flash."

"Cait Shelter!" Wright snarled, making several of the vials around him explode from the sudden release of magical power. That guild had been a thorn in his side for a while now. They had killed a lot of their Demons and prevented a number of their operations throughout Fiore. There weren't even any jobs posted about them which meant the annoying guild did it because of some sense of justice or some other crap. He despised nosy fools like that.

"This is perfect. We are finally going to get rid of that annoying guild. Why haven't we done it sooner? Was I too busy? No, I should have had time to take care of some pests.." the mentally unstable mage began rambling and going over various possibilities of why he hadn't dealt with the 'insects' earlier, completely forgetting about Lilith's presence.

After a bit, the Demoness managed to stand up and stagger towards the door with the intent of going as far away as possible, until she was stopped by Wright's voice.

"Oh and Lilith" the mage said as he moved back to one of his cauldrons "Do be careful next time. So many precious vials and potions were lost because of your distraction. Such a mess, such a mess."

The Demoness' eyes widened as she felt the familiar pressure and fell to the ground, screaming from the piercing headache.

**!~¡**

Jiraiya had to admit, for the past hour or two he had been quite unnerved. Initially he expected the Demons to take the children to their base as fast as possible. He had also expected them to be ruthless and intimidating, scaring the kids at any opportunity they had. He had certainly not expected this.

The Demon brothers were telling jokes! They didn't limit themselves just to that, they even told adventurous stories and played games. At one point, the little blonde girl had complained she was getting tired and one of them picked her up and placed her on his shoulders. The only remotely intimidating thing in the whole situation was the Demoness' behaviour, which wasn't anything in particular – just silence with an occasional cold stare towards the children and a reprimanding remark towards her kin. The Exceed wasn't sure what was going on, if this was some sort of ploy or the equivalent of a final meal for a death row prisoner, but he definitely didn't like it. Evil Demons that wished and relished in nothing but pain and suffering he could handle. That was familiar and easy, you just dispose of them (or rather get Naruto or Mistgun to dispose of them) and be done with it. This? This was too damn confusing.

Initially he didn't pay much attention to it since he was too absorbed in the Demoness. But after a while his unease grew and on a number of times he almost called Naruto. Yet he kept cool and resolved on following them to the base and only summon the blond mage when the children were in danger. He just had to keep his paranoia in check, even though he had a sneaking suspicion the Demoness was looking up in his general direction too many times for his liking.

After another half hour of sneaking above them, the group finally reached a huge stone wall with a pair of giant iron barred gates. As Akasha walked up to them, they started opening up by themselves with an eerie screechy noise that made Jiraiya's hairs stand on end. Even though the mist was still thick, he could at least make out a path from the gate leading to a huge mansion with a large yard surrounding it. This was bad, if they went further up there would be no more trees the Exceed could use as cover.

As he was thinking over the possibilities, the group went inside with the iron gates closing behind them, producing the same noise. The children felt quite scared by the new situation, completely forgetting the fun time they had on the journey up to this point. Lisa told the Demon brother she was sitting on she was all right now and that she would prefer if she walked. She received a toothy smile as a response, with everyone noting how sharp his teeth actually were (funny how they hadn't noticed until now), before she was gently placed on the ground. The kids huddled a bit more closely together and continued following Akasha with the Demon brothers behind them, still in their cheery mood.

After they were closer to the mansion and more particularly a bit farther from the gates, Jiraiya landed on the wall and looked around for a spot where he could hide from here on. Finding none he let out a sigh of frustration as he picked the three-pronged kunai he had kept since the moment Naruto had given it to him on the train. The annoying part was he couldn't be a hundred percent sure this was the Demons' base. After all, they could have just brought the children here because that's where they wanted to go. Normally he would have dismissed such a theory immediately, but in light of the past few hours.. Before the Exceed could do anything though, he saw another figure approaching the group from the mansion's main doors.

It was another female Demon, judging by the enormous wings, which were actually bigger than Akasha's. The difference was, they had a black misty look to them, as if they were incorporeal. She was also clad in beautiful long black dress, with red decorations on various places. Well, that settled it. This was definitely the Demons' base or at least a gathering place for them. He also noticed the group with the children stopped as the new Demoness made her way towards them with a bit of a stagger in her steps. The Exceed was too far away to hear what was being said and at the same time he couldn't risk going closer. Gripping the weapon harder he waited to see what would happen.

In the meantime Akasha regarded the other Demoness with a critical eye. Even Pif and Tif had shut up for a change and were giving their undivided, yet admittedly short attention.

"Lilith."

"Akasha" the raven-haired Demon Lady responded as she reached the group.

"I see you are weak on your legs. Don't tell me the years have finally caught up with you."

Instead of a response, Lilith looked over the children before she focused her eyes on the other Demoness. "Who are they?"

"Some brats we came across of in the forest. They wanted to see the mansion so we brought them."

Lilith was visibly surprised by the answer for the briefest of moments, before her face morphed into a frown. "Why? They're just children, why did you..?"

"So?" Akasha interrupted her. "What do I care what humans do to each other? As far as I'm concerned they can all just die." She stretched her wings a bit and made a slight motion with her head to her back. The other Demoness was confused at first before her eyes widened in surprise.

In the meantime, the children had taken the opportunity to look at each other and with the slightest of nods decided now was the time, while their escorts were distracted. Eleanor suddenly turned around and kicked one of the Demon brothers in the crotch, catching him completely by surprise.

"This way!" She screamed and started running towards the gate, while surprisingly the other brother had also doubled over with the slight difference it was in laughter. The two Demonesses just let out an exasperated sigh before Lilith stretched one of her giant wings and placed it right before the other children, creating a wall between them and the desired exit. Akasha on the other hand moved with great speed and caught the redhead by the hair, yanking her back so hard the girl found herself slamming into the ground.

Jiraiya let out a groan from his position at the wall. They had to go and do something stupid like that. Like they'd have a chance to escape. Well, time to call the cavalry.

**!~¡**

"That's it!" Naruto threw the report he had in the air, prompting a sigh from everyone present in the room. The group checking over the files had actually gotten bigger once they realized the sheer amount of paperwork they had to go through. Soon enough, they had been joined by Sergeant Jameson and two Corporals, an hour after that by two more guardsmen who were off-duty, but decided to stay and help.

In the past couple of hours they had managed to go through a big portion of the reports, something illustrated by the colourful state of the map. Yet with the passing time it wasn't only the number of pins on it that grew, but Naruto's impatience as well. His initial quiet whimpers and grunts had grown in volume, eventually transforming into twitching and pacing around the hall with many attempts at striking up conversations. That had done little to calm him down and at this moment the boiling point had been reached.

"If I have to go through another report I'll go insane! I need a break or a distraction!"

"Naruto" Shika tried to calm his friend "take it easy, we've made a lot of progress in the past few hours" the Exceed motioned to the board with the map.

"No we haven't! All we've been doing is reading and placing pins. We haven't even looked over the actual results!"

"But if we don't have the whole picture beforehand we might make a mistake" the Exceed reasoned.

"Well, I'll certainly make a mistake if I don't do something else besides reading! Maybe I should check on Jiraiya, we haven't heard from him in a while."

"But Naruto, you said it yourself if he found something he would contact you." Erza joined in.

"That's right he might be following a lead and you showing up there could expose him."

"Or he might just be peeping on women somewhere!" Naruto shouted, before he let out a sigh "Look, I need a break from all the reading. Can't we do something else?"

"Perhaps we could compromise. Let's look over the map. We might have already uncovered enough. If not, we could go back to reading and if Jiraiya still hasn't shown up, Naruto can go find him while we continue with the reports" Erza suggested, trying to calm the annoyed mage.

"Maybe it's not such a bad idea, if we don't take a minute to step back, we could make a mistake" the Captain who had been watching with amusement the exchange gave his opinion which was followed by positive grunts and mumbles from the other guardsmen. As funny as it was to watch the hyperactive blond twitch and complain at some point everyone had caught onto his mood.

"All right, let's look over what we have." Shika finally agreed. In truth, he had been surprised his friend had lasted this long given his history with reading.

"Men, go have a walk, a smoke, something to eat or use the restroom. We'll start again in half an hour. Those who are off-duty, feel free to go back home, you've already helped us a lot" the Captain told his men, receiving salutes and a "Yes, sir" before they stood up and went about their business. The Sergeant chose to remain behind.

"With your permission, sir, I think it'd be better if I stayed. I might be able to help with the map."

"Very well, Sergeant" the Captain nodded and the two men approached the map, which was already surrounded by the mages.

"Ok, the most recent cases seem to be all over the place and in a seemingly random pattern. They've been increasingly getting nearer to the centre of the town, but never in the actual downtown area" Shika observed.

"That makes sense. Even if they are Demons, it would be harder for them to make an escape if they get into the city too far. Especially if they're carrying victims" the Captain spoke. "They might be stronger, but we have a lot of guardsmen in this area."

"Most of the attacks outside of the town had happened around the road to the train station and on some of the paths of the guided tours, which makes sense. There's a random one here and there on people that have just wandered into the woods." Erza pointed at a couple of pin clusters.

"Hey, how about this area?" Naruto motioned to a couple of pins located over to the north. "Is there a tour here or something?"

"Hmm.. Some of the first sightings and attacks were around here." Shika went over to some of the information in his mind.

"There are no tours or anything like that. If I remember correctly, the reports came in from wandering tourists that were just exploring the area." The Captain went to the map and traced his finger over it. "Nothing notable, just the forest. Although.." He was suddenly interrupted by some sort of commotion coming from the entrance of the guardhouse. The mages looked at him with a questioning gaze and the Captain just shrugged. "Sergeant, can you see what's going on?"

"Yes, sir." Jameson nodded. He didn't even make three steps though before a very distraught woman came into the hall.

"Jason!" She screamed as she walked rapidly towards the Captain. "Jason, the children are missing!"

"Barb" the Captain caught the worried woman. "Calm down. What's going on?"

"David and Lisa, they're gone. They went out to play at noon. I went to sleep, I was so tired. When I woke up I went to make dinner and they weren't home. I went out to look for them at their friends' house, but they weren't there. We looked for them more, I didn't know what to do.. I.. I.." the woman gasped before her legs gave out. The Captain held here tighter, trying to keep her from falling.

"Barb! Barbara!" He shook her, trying to get a response, before he felt an arm on his shoulder.

"Captain, let me see her. I might be able to help her." Naruto spoke. Pike was only able to nod, before Naruto continued "Let's place her on one of the tables." The blond helped him lay her down as his palms began to glow with a white light.

"This is your wife, right? You said she had a heart condition?" He asked the Captain.

"Ye-Yeah, that's right."

Naruto just nodded as he closed his eyes and frowned in concentration. The woman had pale skin and had a sickly, weak look to her. Her hair was platinum blonde, that flowed down to her mid-back. She wore a long sleeved cream-coloured dress with a white sweater jacket over it. He took notice that her body was thin and light, no doubt a cause of her disease.

"Captain." Pike turned around and just realized there were two more women and a man present in the hall. The one that spoke was Vanessa, the mother of one of his children's friends, Eleanor. He recognized the other woman as Nick's mother and the man as Tyler's father.

"Vanessa, what's going on?"

"None of us has seen our children since noon. Last time we saw them, they told us they were going out to play. We looked the streets around our homes, but they weren't there."

"Could the Demons have taken them?" Nick's mother asked worriedly.

"They have never taken children before.. Don't worry, we'll organize a search immediately." The Captain turned to Jameson "Sergeant, sound the bell and get all the guardsmen here. I don't care if they're off-duty, I want everyone assembled and looking for these children. It's getting late so the sooner we start the better."

"Yes, sir!" The man saluted and ran out of the mess hall. In the meantime Erza had approached Naruto.

"Is she going to be all right?"

"Well, I am not as good in healing magic as my sis, but she's stable for now. I'd need more time to cure her completely. I'll see what I can do once we're done with the mission, until then.." He suddenly stopped and snapped his head up. "Jiraiya's calling."

"He must have found something important if he hasn't come here to tell us personally." Shika landed next to Naruto. "What now?"

"I'll go see what he has found. You two should stay and help with the search. After I get Jiraiya we'll come back. Once we find the kids, we'll continue with the search of possible leads."

Erza nodded when she heard the sound of a bell that started ringing. "That must be the Guardhouse's bell. They're mobilizing the whole Guard."

"This has turned really troublesome" Shika let out a sigh. "At least you got your distraction."

"Heh.. Don't worry, we'll get them" he patted his friend and looked up to Erza. "Stay safe."

**!~¡**

A silent curse was heard from Jiraiya. Where the hell was Naruto? He considered trying again, when the blond suddenly appeared before him. He looked around a bit then turned to the Exceed.

"Jiraiya? What's going on, where are.." he was interrupted by the white cat, who suddenly jumped on his face.

"Demons captured children there! Go now, explain later!" Compelled by the urgency in the pervert's voice, Naruto looked to where he was pointing.

"Oh shit."

In the meantime Akasha was standing over and glaring at the crying Eleanor who was rubbing her head. Pif/Tif had managed to stand up by this point, but was still holding his crotch.

"What the hell did you do that for!" He turned to the girl "I thought we were friends. And will you stop that, it's not funny, it hurts like heaven" he looked at his brother.

"I don't know, from where I was standing it looked pretty funny to me." Tif/Pif kept snickering.

"You have to admit, it was rather amusing, getting surprised by a child" Lilith observed with a small smile on her face.

The only one that kept a neutral or rather a cold expression was Akasha, who was still glaring at the girl.

"You enjoy kicking my subordinates and running away" she rather said than asked. "Maybe I should get rid of those annoying legs of yours." She moved her wing down, stabbing the ground with the girl's legs right between the three blades. The Demoness started moving them ever so slightly, making the girl whimper and shake her head in fear.

"Not on my watch!" Akasha only had a fraction of a second to turn her head and see a blond man slashing with a sword at her wing. She felt him cut through and sever it, making her scream in pain right before she was sent flying with a kick.

Naruto frowned as he flexed his hand a bit before turning around and pointing his palms at the Demon brothers. That wing had been really tough! Even though he used double **Amzu** to increase the sword's cutting power, it was still yanked out of his grasp when he finished the slash. Maybe next time he'd use both hands.

"**Sky Dragon's Wings!**" Two whirwinds shot out of his hands, hitting the Demons and throwing them away. He turned to the remaining Demoness and took a breath.

"**Sky Dragon's ROAR!**" Still feeling a bit woozy from the earlier meeting with Wright, Lilith could only bring her wings up for protection as the blast slammed into her and sent her right into one of the mansion's walls. Naruto immediately knelt down over the red-haired girl.

"Are you hurt?" Still in shock, she only managed to shake her head dumbly. "I'm going to get you home, ok?" After receiving a nod, he turned to the other kids. He noticed some similarities between them and the parents he had met earlier at the Guardhouse and ventured a guess those were the missing children. "Come here!" Seeing their hesitation, he gave them a warm smile "Don't worry, I'm a mage. I just saw your parents and I'll bring you back to them." The children didn't need any more incentive and quickly huddled around Eleanor. Naruto looked around "Where did my sword go?"

"Here it is." Jiraiya brought him his weapon, which had actually turned back into a three-pronged kunai the moment he had dropped it.

"All right, kids, stand around the white talking cat" Naruto instructed them as he stood up. He started focusing his power when he heard a voice from behind.

"You.. You bastard! You cut off my wing! I'll kill you!"

The blond spared a glance back to see the Demoness was literally aflame and gathering fire in a ball over her hand. He frowned a bit and turned to the children. This was going to be close. Right when the fire ball was thrown at him, he began making hand signs. After the third one the children and Jiraiya disappeared from view leaving only his kunai on the grass. There was little time for celebration though as he was hit in the back by the fire spell, making him scream and fall onto the ground. He managed to grab his weapon before he himself disappeared as well.

**!~¡**

Shika quietly observed the gathering of guards. Erza was sitting next to him and was doing the same while having a meal. After Naruto had gone to Jiraiya, they had realized they hadn't eaten anything since breakfast so Erza had suggested they try some of the food offered at the mess hall. It wasn't anything spectacular, but it was good enough.

"This is getting really troublesome. How are we going to find a bunch of kids in this mist?" The black Exceed let out an annoyed sigh. "And that's if they are even in the city, if they have ventured into the forest.."

"Considering they probably haven't eaten since lunch they might starve or freeze to death. Not to mention the threat of Demons."

"And what if they were already captured?"

"We'll just anything necessary to get them back" the redhead shrugged nonchalantly and continued with her meal. Shika shook his head. He really hoped they were only lost somewhere in the city, since the alternative was really bad. The children being captured would put a severe time limit on the mages to find them. Who knows how long they had before the Demons did something to the kids. He stood up and went back to the board with the map. This wasn't a small town, it was going to take a while.

That's when something landed on him, making him scream. He shuffled a bit trying to get away and stood up, finally seeing who it was.

"Jiraiya! What's the big idea?" The Exceed asked in annoyance when he looked around and noticed his white kin wasn't the only one that had appeared. There were five more children who were sitting on the ground and turning their heads, shock clearly visible on their faces. Shika also noted what or rather who was missing.

"Where's Naruto?" As if on cue, a racket was heard and everyone turned to see the blond mage in question had crash-landed on one of the tables. The more alarming fact was him rolling on the floor, trying to extinguish the flames on his back. Managing to get rid of his coat, he hastily backed away from it before a bucket of water was poured on it by one of the guardsman.

"What the hell is going on!" By now the blond had captured everyone's attention, including the Captain's. Pike looked at the coat that still had a sleeve on fire and then at Naruto, who actually had a matching flame on his shoulder as well, although it seemed like the mage hadn't noticed it yet.

"Daddy!" Two voices were heard and the Captain turned to see his children running towards him and tackling him, the man barely able to remain on his feet from the impact.

"Lisa, David! You're.. here. And all right. What's.."

"I think I found your missing children, Captain." Naruto grinned at the older man. He heard an annoyed grunt next to him and turned to see Shikamaru frowning at him.

"Leave it to you to always make a troublesome appearance."

Naruto's grin grew wider as he gave the cat a piece sign "Thanks!"

Shika's frown deepened "That wasn't a compliment. Also, you're burning" he pointed at the blond's shoulder, making the young mage look at it and nonchalantly pat the flames off.

After the commotion died down, Naruto was sitting on one of the tables and was looking over his burnt coat. Barbara, the Captain's wife, had woken up from all the noise and immediately broke into tears at the sight of her children. After she crushed them in a suffocating hug, she gave one to the blond as well, along with her sincere gratitude for bringing them back. He was thanked by the Captain and the other parents as well, something that made him blush in embarrassment and stammer it was no big deal. Currently they were listening to the story of how the kids met with the Demons and how they were led to the mansion, with Jiraiya cutting in from time to time.

"My poor coat" Naruto whimpered prompting a snort from Shika.

"Like you don't have more of those. How many did you bring anyway, five?"

"No!.. Only three" the blond muttered looking away.

"I'm surprised that was the only thing that got burned. You look surprisingly well for being set on fire." Erza noted.

"Well, I still got some burns on my back, but I managed to heal them. They weren't a big deal. It's thanks to the coat actually, I have some fire-resistant runes inscribed on it."

"Fire-resistant runes? I haven't heard of anything like that before." The redhead lifted an eyebrow.

"Well, they aren't anything special, they just offer limited initial protection. Nothing like your **Flame Empress Armour**. They just gave me a couple of seconds to remove the coat or put out the flames. I still got burned, although it wasn't as severe as it could have been."

"How were you set aflame anyway?" She asked him and the blond realized hers wasn't the only attention he had, as the story had reached the point where he fought the Demons and now everyone was looking at him.

"Well, I don't think the damage I did to the Demons was too big, so I figured I had a limited window to bring everyone back. Plus I wasn't sure if there weren't more in the area. So while I was casting the spell, the one whose wing I cut sent a fire ball my way. Dodging it would have broken my concentration. I thought I'd have enough time to teleport them and myself back but I was off by a second. I'm all right though and the children are as well." He turned to the Captain ignoring the "reckless as usual" comment that came from both Shikamaru and Jiraiya. "Where is this Martel mansion anyway?"

Pike went to the map and pointed at a spot to the north of Nebula "I believe it's here."

"It's not too far from the first cases of Demon sightings" Shikamaru noted.

"Yeah, that's what came to my mind before we were interrupted" the Captain nodded.

"All right, seems we have a location. Let's go kick some Demon ass!" Naruto stood up excitedly. "First, I'll get another coat though.." He muttered offhandedly before he vanished making the black Exceed shake his head.

"All right, we have gathered most of the town's Guard as well. We'll come to help."

"That won't be needed, Captain." Erza waved her hand dismissively. "It is our job to take care of the Demons. Your duty is to stay here and protect the people."

"This is our town. We should take care of our own problems!"

"Yet this isn't something you can handle by yourselves. That is why we were hired" the redhead shook her head.

"Listen to her, Captain. The mages will deal with the Demons, it's what they're being paid for" came the voice of the mayor who entered the hall.

"Mayor Frob!" The Captain stood at attention. "What are you going here?"

"I heard the bell and I thought something must have happened. So I came to check on things."

At that moment Naruto appeared wearing a new undamaged orange coat, which was practically the same as the last one.

"Ready to go?" He turned to Erza. The redhead responded with just a nod.

"A moment if you will" the mayor spoke. "My secretary has gone missing. She wasn't feeling well, so I sent her home after lunch. I was worried if she had gotten home safely and whether she was getting better, so I sent one of my clerks to her apartment to check on her. She wasn't there and according to the landlord she hadn't gone back at all."

"Hm.. So she might have been kidnapped." Shika noted.

"Actually, Captain." Sergeant Jameson spoke. "I wasn't able to tell you because of all the commotion with the missing children, but.. When some of the guardsmen returned, they reported a total of twelve people had gone missing as well."

"This is getting more and more troublesome" the black Exceed let out a sigh. He realized he was doing a lot of that lately. Then again, with a partner like Naruto who could really blame him.

"We will just have to recover them after we defeat the Demons" Erza waved her hand with finality.

"Let's go" Naruto just gave a nod with a determined look on his face.

"Wait" they were stopped by the Captain. "At least take a guide with you. You don't know the way to the Martel mansion and with the thick mist there's a bigger chance of you getting lost."

"He-he, don't worry" the blond smirked. "Jiraiya and I left a little souvenir there, didn't we?" He gave a mischievous look to the white Exceed who only grinned in response.

**!~¡**

"Let me get this straight." Wright began, looking at the Demons before him. "Not only did you lose the children, but you've also showed the god damn Orange Flash our location. Is that right?" The Demon brothers gave him a reluctant nod, while the Demonesses didn't move, keeping their gaze on the ground.

"You useless fools!" The mage roared, making them scream and fall on the ground, clutching their heads. "How could you do something so stupid! You have very well jeopardized our whole operation!"

"But Master, we were caught by surprise" Pif/Tif began, before he was interrupted.

"Silence! I don't care for your excuses!" Wright snarled making the Demon shout in pain. "I expected something like that from one of the lesser ones, but not from you!" He regarded them, his face morphed in rage and his eyes lit with fury. Not that it could be seen, yet it would have been really intimidating.

"Out of my sight!" He spat, turning his back to the Demons and going to the window. He looked over the yard as he went over possible paths he could take from here on. Finally, he gave out an insane grin. It didn't matter. He would have to proceed with the plan a bit sooner than expected but they could still pull it off. He sent out a command to all the creatures of hell to get back to the mansion. The mages would come here without a doubt, it would be impolite of Wright not to greet them properly.

**!~¡**

**Author's ramblings: **Ugh, I had a really big **Author's note** with a** Q&A session** that took me more than two hours to make. Then the site glitched and it was gone! ToT I was so upset I went running until I couldn't feel my legs or lungs or any part of my body for that matter. So here we go, **Author's ramblings** take two. Aaaaaaaand Action!

I really felt like taking a shower after writing the Jiraiya bits. Just creeps me out.

I'd like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you wonderful reviewers and supporters, that have put me in any type of list. This story has over 350 favourites and 300 alerts, 12 C2s and even I as an author am being added in lists which is all so.. amazing. Thank you, **Jesus Frankenstein, JaCk-o'-LaNtErN 91, Lightningblade49, NarutoMasterSage4040, SoulNinjas, shyboy19, Zerothahedgehog, kyubii's shinigami, Fuuin, Citan, OverKill, Meido no Kami**(what does this mean?)**, Shinku Naito**(again, what does it mean? Really curious ≥o≤)**, Daicha, Hakai no Ryoku**(once more xD)**, sgtharrison46, Chaos Cain, PyroKitsune, Spaceman, MoonlitCollect0r, and Lesychan**. I know I say it every time (with different names of course), but it does bring me great happiness and motivates me to write even further. And since this great glitchy site allows me to interact with my readers, who am I to say no? You guys are awesome! Also, thanks to my beta **Vandenbz**, to **X009** for giving input and to my older sis for her help.

The other reason it took me a while to write this is because I have a very short attention span. I don't know if this happens to other writers, but I get the most random ideas at the most random moments. This story I have outlined and planned with many points signifying important moments and events up to Part 3. The only thing I haven't done is write the actual scenes. So I am writing this chapter for example and I get an idea about something that's supposed to happen in 20 chapters. The whole scene just plays through my mind. I did nothing about it before, but I started forgetting them and losing many awesome moments. So now every time I get an idea I write it down.

Another thing is I constantly get ideas for other stories. And since my imagination is really wild and untamed I don't simply get the idea, but I also develop the story in my head until the product is something I could actually write down. Out of them, there's one story that I really really want to write and I will probably start it after a certain event in this story. You'll all find out why. n_~ I have an idea for an original story as well, which I really like and am developing right. Once I'm done with the outlines and actually start the writing, I'm not sure I'll have time for other stories. That will be a long way off though since I want to finish this one and the next one. I might do collaborations, since I have many interesting and funny ideas, yet it would be a bit troublesome to write them as well.

Anyway, enough personal boring stuff. Let's jump into the Q&A session. As per usual, I am here with our favourite Exceed cast.

****DSP: ****Hello, hello, everyone. I would like to welcome..**  
><strong>****Shika: ****I want to be transferred.**  
><strong>****DSP: ****Uhm.. What?**  
><strong>****Shika: ****I want to be replaced with Charle. I've been getting way too much screen time. Not to mention, I'm tired of always being the one that has to keep Naruto in check.**  
><strong>****Charle: ****I'm too important to deal with simpletons like you. Besides if I'm not there to teach Wendy how to be a proper Lady, she would most likely become a lazy slouch under your care. Or even worse, a pervert under Jiraiya's.**  
><strong>****Shika: ****I'd take lazy over pompous every time.**  
><strong>****Charle:**** What did you say!**  
><strong>****DSP: ****Soooo.. Jiraiya, how are you doing?**  
><strong>****Jiraiya: ****Great, I'm enjoying the wonderful sights. Thanks for that, by the way.**  
>DSP:<strong> Of course, always a pleasure to aid a pervert in his endeavours.  
><strong>Jiraiya:<strong> Thanks. Not many authors are like that.  
><strong>Shika:<strong> Jiraiya, that was sarcasm.  
><strong>DSP:<strong> Aah, so nice of you to join us again. Now, any questions over the most recent chapter or should we just jump into the reviews?  
><strong>Charle:<strong> I have one. What's with the Pif/Tif thing?  
><strong>DSP:<strong> Simple really. I got really confused which one was which so I just decided to write them like that. Hey, Jiraiya was even there and he got confused as well, right?  
><strong>Jiraiya:<strong> That's right.  
><strong>DSP:<strong> Anything else? Then it's time to answer our wonderful reviewers. First, I'd like to thank all of you for taking the time to write a couple of words of appreciation. Some of you even went beyond that and I must say I always get really happy when I see your comments and even more motivated to go on. All I can say is that all of you are awesome and if you're enjoying the story or have a question, an issue, anything! Let me know. Starting by this chapter. n_~  
>Now let's move on. Since I haven't answered the ones from the previous chapter, this might get too long so we might continue in chapter 8. If I don't answer some of your questions, it's probably because they are plot points and I don't want to spoil anything. Oh and about Naruto's romantic interest.. I'm getting a lot of mixed signals here, dear readers. One chapter everyone hates on poor Erza, the next you want her to be the one, followed again by people wanting someone else. Make up your mind, you shouldn't play with a young maiden's heart like that(especially since this is Erza and she would probably castrate you with her swords). I'm almost tempted to make a poll on which girl you want, just to see who's the most popular. Not that I'll take it into consideration, since the pairing has been decided for while, but I'm just curious.<p>

**Shika:** **dbzsotrum9** suggests Naruto should build his home at the place where he used to live with Grandine and Wendy at the end of the series.  
><strong>DSP:<strong> You know, that's a really interesting idea. I haven't thought of the story as far as the end since the manga is still ongoing. Although I was considering ending it at certain key moments, despite the canon story. Especially the way it is going in recent chapters. But this is interesting, I'll think about it. Thanks for the suggestion.

**Jiraiya:** We have **Raidentensho** explaining about Lee Pai-Long(is that how it's spelled?) and asking if there will be a Crystal Dragon Slayer and a Guren cat later on.  
><strong>DSP:<strong> Now that you said it, I immediately remembered who that guy is. Funny enough, when I first saw Shaman King, I hadn't been an anime or manga fan yet. When they explained Lee's backstory, the first thing I thought was "Oh, that guy's Bruce Lee". I had a similar reaction when I saw one of my favourite characters from Naruto – Maito Gai for the first time. Except, he's Jackie Chan.  
>As for the other Dragon Slayers, they are pretty much decided on. As for the Exceed, their purpose is providing comedic relief. Of course, they'll be helpful with other things, but don't expect too much. I know who Guren is surprisingly. I am not a fan of Shippuuden, but of the few episodes I've actually seen, the Guren arc was one of them. It was actually interesting even though I knew the outcome. Or better yet, Guren as a character made me interested, because I have a thing for villains. I stopped watching it when Hinata got captured, because I really don't like that character so I don't know what happened with Guren. Sadly, I can't use her as an Exceed, because I didn't see enough to catch her personality and she's not really that funny.<p>

**Charle:** **Mzr90** suggests Tayuya as an Exceed and I have to agree. While I don't like her, there is a need for more female Exceed.  
><strong>DSP:<strong> Don't worry, Charle, I'm not a chauvinist or whatever. I have other female Exceed planned.. I think.. *checks notes*  
><strong>Charle:<strong> You better. Or else.  
><strong>DSP:<strong> On second thought, yeah, I'm sure I do! Aha-ha-ha-ha. Let's move on.

**Jiraiya:** **DragonKing20** asks if you could do an Omake(short bonus story for those of you that don't know) of my meeting with Mistgun and the time I embarrassed him.  
><strong>DSP:<strong> Hm.. I'll think about it, but I won't promise anything. Also, Levy will do more than just geek out when she hears of Naruto. Fangirl alert? And about the magic council, I think I have it figured out. I will post about it next chapter or the one after that and go back to make the appropriate changes.

**Shika:** **Final Black Getsuga** expresses his happiness about you keeping Naruto's personality as close to the original as possible. He also asks if you could do an Omake about Tobi as an Exceed.  
><strong>DSP:<strong> Thanks! I'll be trying my best in future chapters as well. He won't be completely like the original of course, but I don't think it's really possible since it's a different story. But it will be close. To me Naruto has always been a badass. A clumsy one, but that's exactly where his charm lies. Plus a lot of people don't give him enough credit in my opinion. And I know what you mean about the other stories. What makes Naruto Naruto is his personality, his quirks, his traits. Not jutsu or his power. In some stories he is so different that it's not actually him anymore, but an OC that just carries his name and appearance.  
>As for Tobi as an Exceed.. I could try, but it won't be more than a cameo appearance. I actually like both of his personalities(I have a villain fetish) so I don't want to portray him only as a simpleton.<p>

**Charle: Deadzepplin** asks if Naruto will ever learn Sage mode.  
><strong>Jiraiya:<strong> Actually, I can answer that. Since Naruto doesn't have a chakra network, he can't balance out the natural energy properly. Plus, my Elemental Nations self isn't in Earth Land so that's not possible.

**Jiraiya: madman666** has suggested a Thread Dragon Slayer that can eat clothes.  
><strong>DSP:<strong> That's a really interesting idea! Unfortunately, I can't use it, since clothes are an artificial product. But! That gave me an idea for another Dragon Slayer. I probably won't use it though, since I have too many already.

**Shika: lightningblade49** asks if Tsunade will make an appearance.  
><strong>Jiraiya:<strong> Yeah, I would love to meet her.  
><strong>DSP:<strong> Of course you would. You're forgetting the fact that she won't have a bust as an Exceed most likely. Which means she'll only beat you half to death. And no, she won't. I don't find her that funny.  
><strong>Jiraiya:<strong> Hm.. Now that I think about it, if she'll only be there to beat me, without the benefit of her assets it's better if she doesn't.  
><strong>Shika:<strong> Her beating you would be funny though.  
><strong>DSP:<strong> Hm...

**Charle:** **Sevenar** asks why does Mistgun have an Exceed since he's not a Dragon Slayer. He also hopes Naruto characters won't just 'happen' to make appearances in Earth Land or Edolas. He's also concerned that Naruto and Erza revealed a bit too much personal information.  
><strong>DSP:<strong> Those are really good questions, that probably a lot of you have. Gérard is practically thought of as a Dragon Slayer as well because of his usage of Air Magic, his resemblance to Wendy and another fact I'll keep a secret for now. So having an Exceed only reinforces that belief. Besides, he would feel kind of lonely by himself, while both Naruto and Wendy had a partner.  
>As for other Naruto characters, nothing beyond the Exceed and they are only here for the comedic relief, as I've said many times. I'd prefer making my own characters then just using those from the Naruto-verse. And I have a lot of original characters.<br>Neither Naruto nor Erza revealed that much about themselves. What Erza revealed is information she is already famous for. As for Naruto, Erza would have made the connection anyway, since she knows a Dragon Slayer herself. She's incredibly intelligent after all. Besides, they would be working as partners, they need to know what the other can and can't do. That way they can watch each others' backs better.

**Shika:** **Lednacek** has gotten the impression you've said this was going to be a story with multiple pairings.  
><strong>DSP:<strong> What! No, I said exactly the opposite. It's not going to be a Harem story, there will only be one girl at a time. This is a serious story, so multiple pairings doesn't have a place in it. Nothing personal against it, but the only way it could work in a serious way is if it was a drama or all of the characters were in love with each other.

**Jiraiya: Yusuke kun** wants to know if the Exceed will have other magics besides Aera?  
>DSP: If they do, it will be a major plot point and it won't be all of them. I haven't decided on that yet though. It's not impossible considering Lily and Charle.. I don't know, I'm still thinking about it.<p>

**Charle: Orchamus** asks if Naruto can do the Jikudan Kekkei that Minato used?  
><strong>DSP:<strong> I.. don't know what that is.

**Shika: Ty** asks how often do you come up with the chapters.  
><strong>DSP:<strong> It depends really. Sometimes I get distracted and have to draft down scenes of future chapters, others of entire stories. I do other stuff as well, like reading, watching e-TV, cooking, going out, jogging, gym, etc. If I sit down and write non-stop, I could write a high-quality long chapter for maybe two days. Three tops. But that's only if I'm writing. If I don't get distracted and write seriously, I can produce one in four to five days, if I give it five to six hours per day.

**DSP:** Ok, last one and we'll keep the rest for the next session.  
><strong>Jiraiya:<strong> We have **Danasca** suggesting you shouldn't use words that would need their own explanation.  
><strong>DSP:<strong> Yeah, yeah, I know. In fact I'll go back and remove all the references and some of the more obscure words. I'll still use 'advanced' words as you put it, because they make me tingle. My new favourite is vehemence. So awesome.  
>Oh and as for that guy you asked about. I did see him, we were on the plane flying to the dark side of the sun. We were headed to Santa's moon base originally, but they told us he was on vacation in his summer villa. When I mentioned you, the jester guy suddenly said he needed to visit his cousin on the chocolate moon of Saturn and jumped out of the plane.<p>

**DSP:** All right everyone, that will be all for this session. Thanks again for the wonderful reviews and questions. I always take the time to read them (some more then once even) no matter if it's a compliment or critique and they always make me extremely happy. I hope you enjoyed chapter 7 and are looking forward to chapter 8 and I would only ask you let me know with a review.  
><strong>Shika:<strong> Finally! You know where to find me.  
><strong>Charle:<strong> I wonder if me and Wendy will make an appearance soon.  
><strong>Jiraiya:<strong> Who knows what's cooking in DSP's twisted world..

That's it for Chapter 7 of **'Fairy Tail's Orange Flash'.** Until next time ^ω^y ~

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	8. Chapter 8 Distractions have benefits

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**Hello my dear readers !~**

**Cheers for getting over 200 reviews! And we're just 7(8 with this one) chapters in the story. I haven't even reached my favourite moments even. Thank you all for the support! You are all awesome !~**

**Anyway, I'll write more in my Author's ramblings at the end, plus there's a continuation of the Q&A session from last time with new guests. Here's chapter 8 of Fairy Tail's Orange Flash, I know a lot of you are impatient.**

**Enjoy !~**

**June 26th 2012** To my dear, wonderful readers: I ATEN'T DED! I know I haven't been updating at all for the past 3 months and I am sorry for that. I've had some computer issues, followed by a trip to another continent, followed by some more computer issues, ending with closing credits of personal stuff. I won't bore you with all the details, since this isn't a personal blog and I'm sure most of you are more interested in the continuation of my story. Besides, why describe my adventures here when I could use them as a basis for a lot of humour in the story itself.

I am re-writing chapter 9, because.. Well, it's kind of hard to explain. It didn't feel right and throughout these past months I've made several attempts of re-writing bits, until I finally said "Fuck it", scrapped the whole thing and started afresh (yes, I know this isn't an actual word). Trust me you won't be disappointed. And if you are.. Well, you'll get the chance to tell me by the end of the week =P

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Chapter 8: Distractions have their benefits

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The thick mist covered the sudden appearance of four kneeling silhouettes on top of the wall. Naruto let go of Erza's hand and looked over the foggy yard. The weather had deteriorated so much that he could only see his partner. He turned to her again and whispered.

"So, what's the plan?"

"We go in through the front, break into the mansion, subdue the Demons, defeat the summoner if there is one and free the prisoners" Erza simply responded.

Naruto looked at the beauty, blinking several times, before joking "I think I'm in love." His sentiment wasn't shared by Shikamaru though, who was busy banging his head on the wall.

"Great, now there's two of you. One job. Is it too much to ask for one job where our plan is something beyond 'we go in and kick their asses'?"

"Sometimes the direct approach is the best one" the redhead merely smirked, moving a hand through her hair.

"I fully agree" Naruto nodded enthusiastically. "I use that approach all the time."

"Well, since we aren't going to be subtle about it, this mist won't be useful to us" Jiraiya pointed out.

"I'll take care of that." Naruto stood up and brought his palms together. Closing his eyes, his brows furrowed in concentration while his hands slowly began separating. Between them one could see a small cyclone forming, constantly expanding as the distance between his palms grew. After a certain point where it had become wide enough, the blond opened his eyes and completely stretched his arms out, releasing the spell.

The cyclone shot into the sky and continuously expanded, dispersing the mist in the process. After a while the whole area was clear of the fog and one could see the powerful winds circling in the skies above the mansion and its yard.

"There, that should keep the mist away for a.." Naruto's sentence went unfinished when he noticed exactly what was waiting for them in the yards. Over a hundred Demons of various shapes, sizes and types were currently focusing on the group of mages, watching their every move. In the centre of the courtyard the mages spotted a big number of humans sitting, lying or kneeling on a large stone circle. It could be clearly seen their hands and feet were tied with rope, rendering them unable to move much.

"Heh.. Looks like nothing but the direct approach would have worked anyway, right Shika?" The blond joked with his friend, receiving a 'troublesome smart-ass' for a response. He shared a look with Erza who simply nodded before jumping from the wall into the courtyard. It was clearly a trap, but that didn't really matter. They had to get rid of all the Demons anyway to finish the assignment. The fact that they were gathered all in one place only made it easy for her and her partners.

The blond followed shortly and on his way down he noticed the redhead was surrounded by light bubbles. They wrapped around her and morphed into a new set of armour. Like most of the sets until now this one accentuated her body pretty nicely as well. The breastplate was composed of silver coloured plates in the form of feathers, revealing a fair amount of cleavage. They continued from the sides until they reached her shoulders where they morphed into shoulder-guards. The front of the breastplate had a metal flower design right in the middle and her back was covered in plates that wrapped closely around her back and waist, yet leaving her stomach completely exposed. The waist-guard was composed of several giant blue-coloured plates, reminiscent of feathers with the edges having elaborate golden decorations. They were joined by a gold and silver metal belt and underneath the guard she wore a long white billowing skirt, reaching down to her ankles. Her plated greaves were blue with a pair of small silver wing decorations right above both ankles.

She wore a pair of blue plated gauntlets with silver feather-shaped plates at the upper edges, acting as elbow-guards. Metal straps twisted around her biceps until the joined with the rest of the armour at her shoulders. Her neck was protected by a neck-guard made of feather-like plates at the front and on her head she wore a tiara with prominent jutting wings. The most distinct feature of the armour though were the two pairs of metallic angel wings, composed entirely of silver plates coming out of her backside. Behind them twelve swords floated in the air in the form of a incomplete circle with their edges pointing outwards. They were all the same – golden handles with silver blades and an elaborate golden wing-shaped guards that had a sapphire in the middle. Erza herself held a pair of the same swords in such a manner that if one were to look from the front, the circle of swords would be completed.

Too caught up in the redhead's most recent change of attire, Naruto neglected to consider one very important factor in his jump – gravity. Unfortunately for him it decided to remind him of its presence by introducing the blond to its best friend, the ground. The young mage let out a disgruntled yelp after landing face-first into the soil. Erza for her part didn't experience any sort of similar troubles and landed slowly and gracefully beside him. She turned a worried look at her partner.

"Are you.."

"I'm all right!" Naruto suddenly jumped on his feet, patting the dirt of his clothes, before setting his gaze on her.

"I see you've changed into another.. gorgeous outfit. What's it called,** Angel's Armour **or maybe **Seraphim Armour**?"

"Those are some nice names, but it is actually known as **Heaven's Wheel Armour**."

"I'm guessing it gives you the ability to fly like the others?"

"Amongst other things. It also enhances my telekinesis and allows me to requip a large number of weapons at once.." she trailed off, before continuing "Naruto, are you sure you're all right? Your nose is bleeding."

The blond hastily moved his hand to his face and winced after touching his nose. How the hell did he manage to miss the fact it was broken!

"**Sky Dragon's Healing Palm" **he muttered, giving Erza a thumbs up with his other hand.

"Hey, Naruto!" Shika called out while he was flying down with Jiraiya. "I think you lost something on your way down."

"What?"

"Your dignity" the two Exceed burst into laughter and even Erza found it hard not to smirk at the joke.

"Oh, shut up!" The blond shouted at his friends, with little result.

"Don't worry about him, Erza." Jiraiya spoke after calming down a bit. "He can fix his broken nose. Too bad he can't do anything about the bruised ego.." The Exceed fell to the ground this time, gasping for air, while the redhead turned her head away from the blond. She couldn't manage to hide the sound of her giggling though.

"Ha-ha, very funny, guys." Naruto muttered dejectedly, his shoulders slumping down. "Are you quite done yet?" Of course, because of all the troubles the blond usually gave them, both Shika and Jiraiya would jump at any given opportunity to embarrass their friend, especially if a girl was involved. The retribution they would receive for these jokes was already a given so they might as well have more fun at the young mage's expense. Before they could throw another witty remark his way though, a clapping was heard in the air, directing everyone's attention towards the mansion. The one responsible for the noise stood on one of the mansion's balconies. It was a short, round figure in blue robes, wearing a yellow pointy hat and a pair of yellow gloves.

"Aah, our powerful guests have finally arrived. And they have brought quite the comedian act with them."

"Who the hell are you?" Naruto shouted at the man.

"Who am I?" He pointed at himself, before bursting into laughter. It was small and quiet at first, the only outward indication his shaking shoulders, but it gradually grew until it reached levels that would make doctors want to strap him in several straight-jackets and lock him away in a dungeon full of white rooms, as far away of the outside world as possible.

"No one in particular!" His insane laughter suddenly halter and he snapped his head to the mages. "Just a mage with a Demon army under him."

"So there was a summoner here after all" Erza noted turning to Naruto. "Looks like you were right."

"This complicates things a bit. He must be quite powerful to be in charge of so many Demons. We should deal with him as soon as possible or he might call for reinforcements."

"Naruto, remember what we've talked about?" Shika asked him, making the blond groan.

"Come on, Shika. That never works."

"What?" Erza looked at them confused.

"He wants me to give him the opportunity to 'come quietly'. From all the bad guys we've ever fought no one has agreed to surrender before."

"Hey! It's called wishful thinking! You can't blame me for wanting to avoid troublesome fights. And who knows, with the way you always pick our assignments, I wouldn't be surprised if someday we went up against someone so insane, they would actually agree."

Erza shook her head at the bickering Caits. During their short journey, she had noticed they all had two sides, two completely different personalities. Jiraiya was a complete pervert, taking any chance he could get to fool around. Yet at the same time he was great at gathering information and if it wasn't for him they wouldn't even know about this place. Naruto was childish, easygoing and carefree, displaying obnoxious impatience and the need to constantly talk as a product of his hyperactivity. Yet at certain moments like during fights or when they met with the mayor, his personality would do a complete hundred and eighty degree reversal and he would show keen insight and a calculative level-headiness, actually proving you could count on him to have your back. Her only hope for normality was Shikamaru and for a while his only quirk had been his general laziness. But now despite his undoubtedly high intelligence he made a rather stupid request that had no chance of working in a million years.

That's when the redhead realized Cait Shelter still couldn't compare in weirdness to her own guild. Going through a list of her guild mates and their various quirks, Erza's face fell slightly and she couldn't help letting out a sigh. Even if they were strange, the Caits showed professionalism and reliability when it was needed, not letting their quirks get in the way of their job. From her guild, she was without a doubt the only normal mage capable of that.

"Hey, Erza! Are you all right?" The redhead snapped her head, realizing Naruto had been waving his hand in front of her. "You spaced out there for a bit, everything Ok?" The blond continued.

"Yeah, I'm fine.. I just remembered something. Anyway, what's he talking about?" Erza motioned towards the summoner, who had started rambling after their initial exchange.

"Oh you know, the usual bad guys stuff. Bla-bla-bla, I'm evil. Yadda-yadda-yadda, you're doomed. You've heard them once, you've heard them all." The blond explained with a bored expression on his face.

"You dare mock me, child!" The insane man snarled at the mages. "Kill them!" The Demons charged, not needing any more incentive.

"Let's get the townspeople out of the way first, then we'll deal with the rest." Naruto said readying a kunai.

"All right." Erza motioned with the swords in her arms and the ones floating behind formed a circle around her. "Dance, my blades!" She commanded and ran to her opponents, her weapons scattering the moment she reached them. "**Circle Sword!**" The swords began slashing and hitting the Demons as if they had a wielder or a mind of their own.

Not to be outdone, Naruto pocketed another three-pronged kunai and chanted "**Power of the stout arms that tears the heaven.. Fast winds that run the heaven.. Amzu-Vernier!**" The familiar cyclones appeared circling around his wrists, ankles and weapons, increasing his speed and offensive capability. Without wasting a second, he ran up to the Demons.

Normally two against a hundred would end in a pretty gruesome way for the two. Yet, they had an advantage, which they utilized to the fullest. They kept close, watching each-others' back. When you were in such a position, there is only a certain number of opponents that can actively attack you, since there is only so much space around you. Because of that the enemies that are in the back shove the ones at the front which resulted in chaotic, easy to deal with attacks. Of course there was the threat of Demons just swarming them, but Erza's multiple swords accounted for that possibility pretty well, since it would prove quite fatal. And even if they were Demons, they weren't all too keen on the idea of sacrificing themselves to ensure they'd get the mages.

Of course, Naruto had to admit that if there weren't two of them to watch each other's backs this plan wouldn't go as well. Especially since Erza's swords kept most of their adversaries away. If they had been by themselves, no doubt the battle would have become much more serious from the start. For now this was a taunt to make the summoner show his hand.

Wright observed the battle while grinning madly. Yes, the power those two displayed would serve him perfectly. He knew the Demons below were mere canon fodder, yet it was still a bit unnerving how the mages were faring seemingly without trouble. From time to time he would see Titania add another sword or the Orange Flash turn into wind and briefly become intangible and even mix in an air spell here and there. Nothing beyond that thought. Wright was certain they were showing only a part of what they were truly capable of. Of course the battle couldn't continue the way it was going now, since the Demons had the advantage of numbers and if the fight dragged out, the mages would start feeling fatigued. So it was only a matter of time and patience before they started fighting seriously. Too bad Cornelius wasn't the patient type. Closing his eyes, he began concentrating before he snapped them open. Even though his face was completely concealed under the hat, two burning orbs could be seen where his eyes were supposed to be.

Below Naruto stabbed a Demon and turned around just in time to see Erza was being assaulted from behind by another hell-spawn. He quickly ran up to the creature and blocked the swing seconds before one of the flying swords impaled its chest from above. The blond couldn't help but smile until it fell when he sensed a huge gathering and leaking of vile magical power from the balcony. He wasn't the only one as Erza had stopped her momentum as well and both of them turned to the summoner, who began chanting.

"**Sentente com ult so sutre Daemonium!"**

"What the hell is he doing?" The blond mage questioned.

"Naruto!" Shika shouted from above. "Red markings appeared at the stone circle around the townspeople!"

"**Pateum fax exurae somon a pan Treme!"**

"They've started to glow!" The black Exceed shouted again.

Naruto's eyes widened in realization "Oh shit!"

"What's going on?" Erza turned to the young Dragon Slayer.

"**Sententi amoru so sutre Daemonium!"**

"He's summoning something big and he's using the people as sacrifice!" Naruto explained while he turned the weapon in his right hand back to it's original three-pronged kunai form. The cyclones around his wrists and the left sword all transferred to it.

"We have to get them away from the circle!" Erza urgently turned to the townsfolk sensing the increase of magical power in the air with each passing second.

"**Fax exurae Dei me!"**

As if on cue, the Demons joined in the chant **"A-NI-MO-DU! A-NI-MO-DU! A-NI-MO-DU!"**

"No time!" Naruto screamed and threw the three-pronged kunai at the summoner.

Wright didn't even move as one of the Demons flew in the path of the projectile. The creature was over two meters tall with a wide chest and had what looked like chitinous exoskeleton instead of skin. Even though the weapon was reinforced, the Demon's natural armour proved to be too thick and the blade only managed to go through the creature's front and poke out of its back.

Erza was about to curse when Naruto appeared on the Demon's shoulder. Using it for support, the blond jumped towards the hat-wearing mage with his right hand outstretched.

"**Sky Dragon's Spiralling Orb!"**

"**ANI MON SUE DES!"**

The **Spiralling Orb **was mere centimetres away from its intended target when Naruto felt the shift in air. A green mist shot out from the summoner and slammed into the Dragon Slayer, throwing him away. Normally he would have absorbed the hit, but the foul stench that came with it sapped his power. Letting out a scream of pain, the blond crashed into the ground.

"Naruto!" Erza made her way to the blond, slashing everything that stood before her. Strangely enough not one of the Demons had reacted to the young mage when he fell. When the redhead reached him she found him coughing furiously and gasping for breath as if he was suffocating. She knelt down, her swords making a protective circle around them when the ground trembled. The whole yard was illuminated by a red light and Erza turned her attention to the source. It looked like a giant crimson crack in the fabric of reality itself. What froze her blood though were the screams of the people bellow it. Before the female mage could even blink, the wails of anguish were replaced by a shattering sound and a giant four-legged Demon appeared.

The creature was over five meters tall and eight meters long with thick dark-purple skin. Its back was literary burning with blue flames that extended over the edges of a pair of black feathered wings and the entirety of a thick swishing tail that ended in a flaming spiked orb. There was a red line pattern reminiscent of barbed wire that went all around its body and emanated a pulsating light. It could be seen even on its wings, judging by the crimson feathers that painted it. In the end it all seemed to concentrate at a fiery orb in the Demon's thick neck, which was so wide that it practically gave the impression it was non-existent. The abomination's back legs consisted of a pair of cloven hooves while its front had six clawed onyx fingers.

The Demon scanned the area with its four burning eyes, opened its enormous mouth, revealing numerous razor-sharp teeth and let out an otherworldly screech, so loud it gave the impression it actually came from all directions. It had a pair of black tusks that grew upward, stretching over its head and on its forehead a single giant horn that curved down.

The summoner's insane laughter was heard in the air. "Behold! The Behemoth! Its power will ensure the death of every single human in Nebula!" He pointed at the general direction of the town "Go forth, my minion! Leave no survivors!" The infernal Demon charged through the gates, not bothering to wait for them to open or even mind where it was stepping."

The mentally unstable man then turned to the mages on the ground below him "As for you two, the rest of my minions should keep you busy long enough for that to happen. Even if you do manage to defeat them all, Animodu would have wiped that pathetic town from the face of Earth land and you would be too tired to face him." He turned his back to them and started entering the mansion. "So long, children. You managed to keep me entertained for a bit."

Erza stood up and levelled a glare at all of the surrounding Demons. Magical power leaked from the red-haired mage and before long the area around her was engulfed with light. In the blink of an eye it morphed and took the shape of over eighty swords floating above the beauty. She was about to make them scatter and engage the Demons once more when she heard Naruto.

"Wait, Erza." He stretched his hand towards her and the female bent slightly and took it. Next thing she knew the scenery changed and they appeared on the wall, at the same spot where they had first teleported to. Naruto picked the three-pronged kunai that had remained there the whole time before standing up.

"We need to deal with the Behemoth."

"We can't just leave that monster, he might sacrifice more people! And we have to deal with those Demons as well, otherwise they might aid in the destruction of Nebula." Erza motioned angrily to the yard and the balcony where the summoner had disappeared to.

"We will. I'll stay here and take care of the army and the summoner. You should go after the Behemoth and protect the town."

Erza's eyes widened in surprise. "But Naruto, you were hurt.."

"I'm all right now. And I'm really pissed off, so no more holding back. If the summoner proves to be too strong, I'll retreat and we'll face him again after we've dealt with his minions." He turned to the worried mage and gave her a reassuring smile "Don't worry, I can deal easily with these Demons. And I know you can handle the Behemoth by yourself. This is the only way, otherwise more people will die."

Erza bit her lip and looked over the courtyard full of Demons, then at the direction the giant monstrosity had gone to and finally back at Naruto. "All right."

The blond nodded "Take Shika and Jiraiya with you. With their speed, you should be able to reach the town in time. And if things get bad, they'll call me back." The two Exceed landed on the wall and waited for the redhead.

"I can handle that thing. I'm more worried about you. Be careful."

Naruto just gave her a thumbs up and a small smile. Shaking her head, Erza dispelled her swords and returned back to her original outfit. "Let's go!" She turned to the cats who only nodded and wrapped their tails around her waist.

"With the two of us flying and max speed, we'll reach Nebula in no time." Jiraiya boasted before they took off.

Erza sent another worried look back before she looked ahead. She was silent for a while until she voiced a question that had kept nagging her.

"Why was Naruto so hurt by that attack? He could barely breath when I got to him. It looked like Air magic, his scales should have been able to protect him."

The two Exceed looked at each other briefly and Shika was the one that spoke "It's true that since he's a Dragon Slayer his scales protect him from Air magic. Sky Dragon Slayers are a bit different though. They have the potential to be some of the most terrifying and powerful mages, but it comes at a price. They can simply breath air to restore their magical power, but at the same time if the air around them is polluted, they lose their power. The worse the pollution is, the more weakened they become. My guess is that is why he was hurt."

Erza was quite startled by what she heard. She looked up at the black cat. "We have to go back! He can't face someone that has such spells then!"

"Erza" Jiraiya spoke this time. "Have faith in Naruto, the same way he has faith in you. He's dealt with worse in the past. He's a lot smarter then he lets on. We should focus at the task at hand."

The redhead thought about it for a bit and finally nodded. They were right, if they went back now, the townspeople would be left to face the Behemoth alone. All she could do was trust the blond mage.

Said blond mage in the meanwhile had been looking over at the Demons. They had tried giving pursuit of Erza and the Exceed the moment they flew, but Naruto had concentrated his magical power and the cyclone he had cast over the skies to keep the mist at bay fell down and surrounded the mansion and its courtyard in a wall of raging winds.

"Now, now" the young mage spoke, letting his **Vernier **disperse. "You have to face me first before you can go after them."

One of the Demons below snorted. "You're one man! Against a hundred of us!"

"You're right, that's really unfair" Naruto said, making four hand-signs with his left hand. "There's too few of you!" The three-pronged kunai in his right began to glow.

**!~¡**

Captain Pike ran ahead of his men towards the northern part of town. After the mages had left to confront the Demons, he had finished with the assembly of the Guard and had put them on stand by, in case the mages needed back-up or things went out of control. He had hoped Naruto and Erza would have been able to finally get rid of the Demon threat because no matter how much he hated to admit it, he and his man were way out of their league. Those hopes were crushed though when a violent quake had gone over the town. The mist had started clearing a bit, so Pike had gone to the tower of the Guardhouse. What he saw froze his blood.

There were numerous fires at the north side of Nebula and one could even hear the distant cries of suffering. Something was wreaking havoc over there and the Captain realized the mages had probably failed. All that they could do now was flee the town and hope the Demons wouldn't follow. He himself wasn't going to run away though. Instead, he would lead the charge and provide enough time for the citizens to escape.

And here he was now, reaching the outskirts of the town with his loyal men behind him. All of them knew what was at stake and all were prepared to fight and die for the people. They turned around the corner and came face to face with an abomination that was setting fire to the houses and unleashing its fury upon the fleeing people.

Fear clenched the Captain's heart as he realized they probably had no chance against such a monster. He felt cold sweat pouring over his body as the terror of imminent death settled into his stomach. His eyes were drawn onto the people who were trying to flee and Pike realized this was no time for Dread. No, it was a moment for Duty! Unsheathing his sword he turned to his men, who were no doubt feeling the same way he was.

"All right, maggots! If you have time to stare at that thing, ready your weapons! Let's send that Demon back to where it came from!" His words snapped the stunned guardsmen and upon seeing Pike's determination leaking from his glare, everyone chorused a "Yes, sir!" They lifted their rifles, crossbows and bows, armed and ready for their Captain's mark. They didn't wait for long as he pointed his sword at the creature and yelled "Fire!"

The guardsmen unleashed a torrent of projectiles which approached the Demon at great speeds only to bounce away or barely poke through its outer skin. The monstrosity looked at the insignificant insects and let out a roar of terror that froze every single person in the area. Focusing its four flaming eyes on them, it charged fully intent on reducing them to nothing more than a puddle on the road.

The Captain watched his oncoming doom, not even being able to close his eyes from the horror he felt in his entire being. Just as a Demon approached him, he saw a white line appear on it, followed by a gush that spilled its hellish blood. That made it slow down in its tracks and looked around for the thing that had actually managed to hurt it. Pike moved his eyes around dumbly, searching for the same source until it appeared appeared before him.

Erza landed between the giant Demon and the guardsmen, clad in her **Black Wing Armour **and holding her sword at her side. She flapped her metallic wings and flew towards her enemy, slashing violently with her weapon. She persisted her relentless onslaught, dodging and twirling around the beast's enormous paws and tail. A stunned look was painted on Pike's face when he realized she was able to push it back, if only barely. The surprises didn't end there when the redhead made a looping, and backed off a bit. Her sword was enveloped in light and was replaced by the handle of a giant two-handed axe with an enormous blade. Erza seemed completely unfazed by the change and slung the unwieldy weapon, producing a huge cutting wave towards the Demon. It hit the creature square in the face, yet Pike's happiness was short-lived when he realized that all those wounds the redhead had inflicted weren't deep enough, including the latest one. Nevertheless, it still managed to produce results, as the Demon's single giant horn was severed from its forehead and crashed into one of the houses. The monster backed off in surprise and Erza used the brief pause to fly back to the guardsmen.

"Captain! Take your men and evacuate the town. Your presence here will only hinder me. I will try to draw the Behemoth out in the forest, but I can't guarantee I'll be successful and I don't know the extent of destruction we will cause. Get everyone as far away as possible!"

Pike only managed to nod dumbly and turn to his men "You heard her, maggots! Start evacuating the citizens. Leave everything that will slow us down." The guardsmen began scattering, while the Captain turned to the redhead. "What about Naruto? Where is he?"

Erza looked at him for a moment before she turned back to the Demon "He stayed back at the mansion to hold off the rest of the army." Pike's eyes widened in surprise. There were more? Before he could say anything, a low rumbling was heard as it progressively grew in sound. He turned towards the Behemoth and saw its thick neck was expanding even more with red veins bulging on it. The Demon opened its mouth and let out an infernal fire wave towards the still scrambling guard. Pike didn't even have time to flinch before Erza changed into her **Flame Empress Armour **and faced the attack. She held the giant fire ball for a moment and with a fierce scream diverted it into one of the nearby houses, making it explode.

"Go now, Captain!" She shouted at the man and requipped back into her **Black Wing Armour**, holding a pair of axes with red and black decorated handles. Not even looking back, the redhead charged at the Behemoth and engaged in another round of fierce battle.

**!~¡**

"AAAAAARGH!" The Demon let out a scream as his arm was severed, right before it was kicked and sent skidding on the ground. It tried to ignore the pain and stand up, but his adversary landed roughly on him, one leg pinning his chest while the other pressing against his throat, making it hard to breath. He looked upwards and saw the pointy edge of a sword right above one of his eyes.

The battle hadn't even lasted more than two minutes. After the initial confusion of what had happened dispersed, the Demons realized they were rapidly massacred. Before long he was the only one with the blond mage standing right before him. He tried to evade, but was oh so slow and his left was taken away from him. He had no idea why he was still alive.

"You're the last one." Naruto spoke looking down at the fallen Demon under his feet. "I have a couple of questions I need answered." Ah, so that was why.

"Fu-fuck you" the creature let out a hoarse gasp, causing the blond's frown to deepen. A stabbing sound was heard followed by a scream of pain.

"Wrong answer. And I haven't even asked my questions yet. You're pretty bad at this." Naruto positioned his sword over the Demon's other eye. "Now tell me, what's the name of the summoner?"

"Co-Cornelius Wright." Naruto barely managed to hide his smile at that. Finally he had found him. Not that he objected to ridding the world of vile Demons, but Wright had eluded him for a while now. He was happy this time the intel was correct.

"What is his goal?" He asked his next question.

"I.. I don't know" the Demon hesitantly answered, dreading what was about to happen. Seeing the blond frown again and the approach of the blade, he screamed "Ireallydontknowwejust.."

"Slow down" Naruto urged him calmly.

Gulping with considerable effort because of the mage's foot, the Demon tried again "I don't know. We just work for him. He told us to gather humans for sacrifices to summon more Demons and that's what we do. He needs them for something else, but he never told us what, he never told us anything!"

"Are there more of you left?"

"No.. No, you killed everyone."

Naruto's eyes narrowed "Are there any more people left alive?"

"I don't know, when I came here everyone was already gathered."

"Where did you keep them after you kidnapped them?"

"In the basement of the mansion. The entrance is at the west wall, two giant wooden doors with a staircase that leads down."

"Are there any keys needed?"

"Yes.. No.. I don't know, it was usually opened when I brought people."

Naruto remained silent for a minute looking down at the Demon. If it didn't know about Wright's agenda, then the chances were slims. Still, he had to try. "I want you to look at something and tell me if you've seen it before" he reached to one of his pockets with his free hand. The downed Demon decided this was his chance to try and break free. Mustering his claws, he tried lifting his body up and slashing at the blond. Which proved to be the last mistake he ever made.

Naruto looked down at the Demon and let out a sigh. Looks like he would need to search the whole mansion now. Oh well, the chances the creature new were slim anyway. First, he had to check the basement. If there were any people left alive he would set them free. Then what? He could tell them to head back to Nebula, but that would be a bad idea, seeing how Erza was probably facing the Behemoth there. And there could be some Demons left in the forest, it would be too risky to send humans back there. Gah, he would deal with it if there were any people left. Making 'troublesome' plans was usually Shika's job, Naruto was better at improvisation.

He turned around the corner of the west wall and spotted the doors to the basement. Fastening his pace, Naruto suddenly stumbled and fell on his knees. He was briefly confused what was going on when he realized how drained he actually was. That.. _thing _Wright had used against him hurt him pretty badly and sapped a lot of his power. He had put up a front before Erza but the battle against the Demons had exhausted him even more. Fighting a small army by himself might have been a bit over the top.

He decided to take five to catch his breath. Or maybe ten. Naruto had to admit if it wasn't for the fact that he needed air to recover, he would have been royally screwed. Of course it took more time unlike the element consumption of other Dragon Slayers. At least he would have some of his power back. After fifteen minutes Naruto stood up feeling refreshed. He approached the doors to the basement and readying his weapon opened them cautiously. There was a stone staircase leading down, illuminated by a couple of torches on the wall. Making sure there was no one around, the blond descended.

He reached another wooden door with iron bars in the position of a small window and looked through it. He saw a large corridor with many similar doors stretching far back. He could see other corridors as well, intertwining with this one which Naruto decided was the main. The entirety of the basement probably stretched below the whole mansion, possibly even further.

He tried the door and was delighted when it opened without a problem. The blond went along the corridor looking into the rooms through their small barred windows. There was nothing of interest really, most were just empty, there were some that were completely dark and very few that were filled with old chests and a knight armour filled with cobwebs. Nothing of interesting to him until he turned around a corner and saw several chambers on the sides, which instead of a door or a wall had iron bars separating them from the corridor. Naruto could see four on each side and immediately rushed to them to check if there were people in. To his dismay they were empty, all but the last one.

The blond saw the mayor secretary lying on one of the benches in the cell. What was her name again?

"Janice!" he called out. "Janice, are you all right?" He saw the young woman stir and open her eyes. She stood up a bit and focused on the blond. He saw her cheek had a blue bruise, no doubt from a hit.

"You.. You were that mage.. From the mayor's office."

"Naruto" said mage supplied. "Do you know where the keys are?"

"I think I saw them on one of the walls right before the cells."

"Don't worry, I'll get you out of here" Naruto ran back and saw a key-ring with several keys on a nail. He took it and returned to Janice's cell. "Do you know if there are more people?" he asked the young woman while trying out the different keys.

"Aren't there more in the other cells? I was hurt when I was brought here so I fell asleep immediately."

"No.." Naruto opened the door and went over to her. "I guess you're the only one left." He offered her a hand "Can you walk?"

Janice took it and stood up. "Yes, I think I'm better." He led her out of the cell and turned to face her.

"Ok, stay close behind me. We'll look for a room here where you can hide until I'm back. I took care of all the Demons outside, but I can't risk you going back to Nebula on your own, since there might still be some left in the woods. Besides, there's a really big one in town right now, so you don't want to go back anyway."

"But.. Where are you going?"

"I have to take care of the guy who brought them all here. And I can't risk you being caught in the crossfire. Don't worry, we'll pick a safe place. If someone comes they'll look in the cells and when they see no one's there they'll think you've been brought out with the others, Ok?" He received a nod and continued "Good, stay close behind."

Naruto made a couple of steps, while Janice followed him. Looking at the blond's back, her face scowled before a dark misty wing silently appeared from her back. Without a word she slashed at the mage's neck severing his head. Or at least that's what she was going for. Instead her wing simply passed through him before he dispersed completely, dropping his kunai to the floor. Janice looked hastily around her when she heard a voice from above.

"So you were one of them. That's how the assignment was posted, you had access to the mayor's office and used it to get the stamp. I'm guessing you have something to do with the fact a request for help wasn't sent for earlier as well."

The impostor secretary looked up to see Naruto standing on the ceiling and looking down straight at her. She briefly wondered how he was able to do that when she saw white glowing runes on his sandals.

"Just a suggestion, nothing more" Lilith said, letting go of her transformation spell and returning back to her original self. "A very compelling suggestion. What gave me away?"

Naruto lifted his brows at her "Come on, really? You were the only one of their prisoners left unharmed while everyone else was sacrificed. Don't you think that warrants some suspicion?"

"It does. However, your gender is usually so eager to save the damsel in distress and be the dashing hero that such details elude them."

"That's true. Only if the damsel is incredibly hot though." Lilith frowned at the implied insult while Naruto just continued with a content smirk "So why bring us here? Why ask for mages when they can ruin whatever it is you're doing here."

"As sacrifices. After you were killed, Wright would have used your magical power for his schemes."

"But.. How? We'd be dead." Naruto asked surprised.

"Heh" Lilith smirked. "A person's soul remains in his body for a brief period of time after dead. And the magic is tied to it as well until it is released into the world."

"Why even bother keeping prisoners then? Wouldn't it be easier to just kill them?"

"What is this, twenty questions?" Lilith said annoyed. The Demoness opened her third eye and flapped her enormous wings creating a whirlwind and sending it at the blond. Naruto's jaw fell slightly in surprise. No way, this couldn't be happening. Lilith looked at her spell engulfing the mage, no doubt ripping him to shreds. She was a bit disappointed, if he did manage to kill all the Demons outside then he should have put more of a fight.

"I can't believe it" Naruto's voice snapped her of her inner musings and made her scowl. "My luck is scary good sometimes. You're an Air Demoness." Lilith could now see Naruto's body was completely unharmed and to her shock he was picking the whirlwind itself and devouring it, as if it was some sort of meal.

"It does taste a bit wicked. But your wind is really powerful."

"Wha.. What are you!" she screamed, too shocked to maintain her composure.

Naruto finished eating the last of her spell and grinned widely "The Sky Dragon Slayer, Naruto Marvell!" He jumped down casting **Sky Dragon's Claws** over both his hands and feet. Lilith let out an angry snarl and sent a shredding wind wave at him only to see the young mage not only stop it with his bare hands, but also pick it up and place it in his mouth. Her magic seemed to be useless against him. She jumped to her right, dodging his landing form and slashed with her wing. To her shock he simply grabbed it and twisted, throwing her into the nearest wall.

Lilith let out a scream from the force of the impact. She had little time for that as she dodged Naruto's following slash and made one of her own. A normal manicure with such a length would have simply snapped, yet her fingernails were Demonic nails which were much harder than normal ones. She aimed for the blond's eyes who narrowly dodged them backwards only receiving minor scrapes on his cheek. He used his momentum and continued falling down into a back-flip with his leg claws tearing through Lilith's torso.

The Demoness let out a scream of pain and flapped her wings, trying to fly away. Even if the basement roof was pretty high, she was still confined here and without the use of her magic she was loosing pretty badly. The blond mage also had an advantage in hand-to-hand combat so her best bet for now was to flee.

The surprises hadn't ended though. When Naruto finished his back-flip he immediately rushed towards the Demoness. He jumped in the air and instead of falling he continued leaping, as if there was an invisible floor. He grabbed one of her legs and pulled her down, slashing at the same time with his other hand. Lilith let out another painful scream when his claws tore through her dress and skin, before she was sent flying to the ground by an axe-kick. She watched Naruto disappear in an orange flash and heard him behind her.

"**Sky Dragon's Spiralling Orb!**" Naruto slammed his spell into Lilith's side which nailed her into the nearest wall. After screaming from the intense pain, the Demoness simply slumped on the floor. It was over. The young mage picked his weapon from the ground and went over to his opponent. She looked at him weakly.

"Y-you could have teleported from the start and ended it then. Why didn't you?"

"The previous battle left me pretty exhausted so I was hoping you'd use more Air Magic that I could eat."

After hearing this Lilith turned her eyes to the ground and clenched her teeth. Was she really this outmatched? It was true, the blond had a clear advantage as far as magic went, but she was still one of the higher Demonesses, a member of the nobility at that. Or was it the fact that deep down she didn't want to win and took this opportunity for death. She looked up at the young mage "This is the end then. Finish it, human."

Naruto frowned at her words "Aren't you a little too eager to die?"

"You have thoroughly defeated me and had dominated the fight. Death is the only outcome for me after such a shameful defeat."

"Yeah, what are you, a samurai warrior? Since when did Demons care about such things as pride and honour?"

"Don't think you know anything about us, human!" Lilith spat and to her surprise found the young mage kneeling right next to her, practically in her face.

"That's the thing, I thought I knew of Demons, but this job.. Nothing makes sense. First one of your kind thanked me after I killed him at the lake, then you yourself are asking for it. And the children, Jiraiya's story was really confusing. Instead of being slaughtered on the spot or beaten or had anything harmful done to them, they were treated.. nicely. He also had the suspicion that other Demoness knew of his presence."

Lilith remained silent for a bit before she spoke looking away "Akasha sensed him even before she revealed herself. She saw the metal plate on his back and recognized your guild."

"So.. She lead him. Why, she wanted us to save the townspeople?"

"Don't be foolish, human!" Lilith's head snapped back to him. "My sister cares not for your kind and neither do I!"

"Then why show us your base? Why risk your plans?"

"Enough talking" Lilith looked away once more. "Just kill me already and be gone."

Naruto kept silent for a bit, studying the Demoness' features before speaking again "You know, I've taught about it a lot last night. I just couldn't fall asleep, my mind would always wonder back to that Demon, the gratitude in his voice, in his relieved eyes. I told myself it was a trick of some sort, to mess with my mind, to shake me when I faced others of his kind. But what if it wasn't? Then, what position do you have to be in where death would be better?" he asked almost rhetorically, still looking at her face. "One thing that came to mind is if your freedom was taken away, when you had no choice over your actions, where death would be a release from such a fate." He saw her face tighten a bit and the Demoness doing her best to turn her head even more away from him. "That's it, isn't it?"

Brief silence fell in the basement. Lilith still refused to look anyway near the blond or give any sort of indication she was going to talk. Naruto frowned slightly at her actions. He wasn't the patient type and he needed answers. At the same time threats wouldn't really work on someone resolved on dying. Sure, he could torture her, but he felt unwilling to do something like that right now. Shika's words came to his mind 'Before trying to solve a puzzle, you must always make sure you have all the pieces first.' Even Naruto remembered something after it was repeated to him a hundred times.

Now what? He thought about it for a bit more and a mischievous smile appeared on his face. "All right then. Since you don't want to talk, you leave me no choice." Naruto's hand began to glow and he moved it over the Demon Lady's chest. Lilith closed her eyes and her final regrets went to her family for leaving them. She tensed, awaiting her no doubt imminent dead. Instead, she started feeling better. Snapping her eyes open she looked down and saw the young mage going over the wounds he himself inflicted, healing them!

"What are you doing!" She tried pushing his hand only to be held down by his other one.

"Simple really. Since you refuse to talk with me, I'm going to do the opposite of what you want."

Lilith was left speechless briefly before her face turned into a fierce scowl "You obnoxious brat! I'll kill you!"

The blond just gave her a wide grin "Thanks! I always try my best to annoy people, but I rarely receive proper recognition for my attempts" he finished, standing up. "There we go, good as new. Well, I didn't heal you completely, because I had to save some of my power for when I face Wright. But I am happy to say your life is out of any imminent danger."

Needless to say, Lilith wasn't as happy after hearing the 'good' news and was going over various ways of killing the blond that were carefully tuned to be incredibly slow whilst delivering the maximum output of pain. She realized there was no way she could succeed, yet fantasizing about it made her feel better.

Naruto in the meantime was walking away with a merry pace which he knew would only further annoy the Demoness. He let out a smile when he heard her voice but quickly did his best to hide it.

"Wait.. I'll tell you only if you promise to finish me off afterwards."

"I don't think you're in any position to make requests." Naruto noted innocently as he turned back and approached her.

"I'll leave it to your human conscious then" she said, snorting under her breath "I can't believe I'm doing this." When Naruto was close enough he sat on the floor in front of her, giving an indication she had his attention. Taking a deep breath, Lilith asked the blond "How do you think Demonic summoning usually works?"

Naruto took a thoughtful expression before answering "Well, I'm guessing it involves some sort of ritual and the caster giving off some of his magical power to bring a Demon that would do his bidding."

"True, that's what usually happens, although there is a twist. In truth the Demon doesn't do all of the caster's bidding. A form of contract is formed between them and the Demon is free to go when the terms are completed. I also want to note that there are many types of Demons and not all of them answer a summon or make a contract. Most of those that do have a personal agenda usually related with their hatred towards humans and desire to inflict suffering."

"Wait, not all of you hate humans or enjoy killing us?"

Lilith let out a snort "Hardly. There are several Demon castes, human. Most of us go about our own business in our own realm and never even set foot outside of it. We consider ourselves far too superior compared to the likes of your kind or any of the other lesser races. Why would we care about a bunch of insignificant beings?"

"Of course, this view isn't shared by all of us. There are some castes that relish in inflicting pain and suffering. Most of the Demons you have faced in this world are probably from those castes, which brings the misconception that all of the Demonic kind are evil and desire nothing more than spilling blood, like some common barbarians. Oh and there's one caste that is actually fascinated by human nature and chooses to live among you, to study you and even interact with you. Needless to say, they aren't very popular or numerous and are even hunted by the brutes." Naruto decided she was referring to the evil castes with 'brutes'. "As far as Demons of the neutral castes go on this world, they prefer to live in isolation, away from human settlements and detached from our realm." Here Naruto interrupted her impatiently.

"Okay, but how does that relate to your current situation?"

"I'm getting there, human! Take care not to interrupt me." Lilith reprimanded the blond, irritation clear in her voice. Naruto just smiled sheepishly and mouthed a quiet "Sorry".

"Remember when I told you about the contract between the summoner and the sommonee?" Not even waiting for a response, the Demoness continued "Wright and Sleek found a way to circumvent that. They have devised a potion, a spell that goes directly into our nervous system and makes us obey their commands. What is worse, they were able to expand the summoning to neutral castes and extend their control over them, my family included." Lilith looked to the floor at this point. Naruto on the other hand was looking at her with slightly narrowed eyes. Ok, here story made sense, but neutral Demons and even good Demons? From all of the ones he had faced so far, he had never encountered a thing like that. They all seemed too eager to fight or kill him. Then again, he hadn't had the opportunity to observe them outside of a battle. This only posed more questions.

"What about the rest of your family, where are they?"

"You should know, human, your guild is responsible for the death of many of my children."

Naruto was taken by surprise by that but quickly recovered "Yeah well, none of your kind I faced so far had any inhibitions about killing me or my family. So don't expect an apology or anything like that."

"It was either kill you or face the wrath of those bastards. The quick death you probably granted them is still better than what they did to the rest of my kin. Experimentation, trials, torture.. I've lost so many children, I only have a daughter and a son left, along with my mutilated mate." She turned to look Naruto straight in the eyes "I don't hate you for what you did, human. I have given up a long time ago to invest myself in such emotions anymore. I can't bear to see my family being treated as nothing more than tools, as mere objects in the hands of power-hungry madmen. All I have left is to wait for death and hope it is a quick one."

"Ok, but why not take your own life? You can move freely which means you could do that much."

"If only" the Demoness shook her head. "There are certain rules placed on us by Wright and Sleek. We must obey them, we can't attack them, we can't attack each other and we can't take our own lives."

"You mentioned this Sleek before. Who is he?"

"Peter Sleek, a very powerful necromancer. He and Wright are partners." A partner? Naruto never heard of this guy or something like that before. Were those two responsible for the increase of Demon activity in Fiore? Or maybe it wasn't only in Fiore, they could very well operate throughout the continent. What was their goal?

The blond suddenly realized he was the target of a very intense stare. He met the Demoness' gaze and immediately saw the expectation in it. She had answered his questions and now he was supposed to kill her, to end her existence and help her escape any further suffering. Naruto saw it all in her eyes. Normally he would grant it without a thought, but he never expected things to be so big.

Damn it, he hated situations like these. He wished Shika, Wendy or Gérard were here. Even Jiraiya would do. They would have let him decide in the end as usual, but their thoughts and advice would have really helped him. He mulled over everything for a bit more and made a decision. To hell with it, if this was some elaborate plot they would just deal with it later. If it wasn't and there really was another mage and they were using the Demons against their will..

"All right, let's make a deal" he began, making the Demoness lift an eyebrow. "There are a lot of things I didn't know and I still don't know. Even if I beat Wright here, there is still another mage who would continue summoning your kind and keep controlling you, right?" Naruto asked, receiving a nod.

"How about this then: you will give me and my guild information from the inside. Their movements, their plans, their abilities, everything you can find out. And in return, we will do everything that we can to free you from their control."

Lilith was surprised by Naruto's words, but shook her head. "It's pointless. They are too strong and in the end they would just order us to fight you and we'd end up dying anyway. If you finish me off now, it would bring the same results. At least I'd be rid of their control sooner." She grabbed his hand and gave him another intense look. "Please."

"You have a family left alive, don't you? You shouldn't give up then. If you had no hope, I would understand, but I am offering you a chance. If we find a way to do it, we would let you go back to your realm and you would never have to see humans again. If not, then I would grant your request. It's a win-win, all you need to do is feed me information and endure a bit more until we find a solution."

Lilith closed her eyes. It sounded oh so tempting. She really wanted to believe it but a part of her was screaming at her, calling the young mage a liar, that his only desire was to use her like those other bastards, that he would throw her away and leave her to suffer once he got what he needed. But it was too late, he had already planted the seed of hope in her. That hated emotion grew inside her being, whispering treacherous words that maybe he would help her. Maybe she would be free. The inner turmoil brought tears to her eyes and she clenched her teeth violently. She wanted to scream her frustration, to hit her torment away. What did she really have to lose anymore?

She felt a hand being placed on her shoulder and opened her eyes to face the blond "I promise you, we'll hold our end of the deal. And I never go back on my word." That was it. The final nail in the coffin. Damn it, why did she let him play her like that? It was pointless, however you looked at it. But.. But maybe it wasn't.

"Fine. I will do it." She quickly grasped his arm and squeezed it with all her force. "I can only hope that you will do what is right, human. I have nothing left."

"Of course" the blond grinned at her despite the pain and gave her a thumbs up. "And it's Naruto, not human."

Lilith looked at him for a bit, contemplating on what he had said. Normally she wouldn't do it, but it didn't matter anymore. "Lilith. My name is Lilith."

"Ok, Lilith. So tell me, what is their goal? Why are they summoning so many Demons and why are they kidnapping people?"

"It all started almost twelve years ago. From what I've gathered, that was when those two first worked together in order to bring a powerful Demon to this world. Their goal was to subdue him and absorb his power, claiming it as their own. There were five of them, although I don't know what happened to the other three. What I have learnt is they succeeded in the summon but failed in the submission. The Demon they brought proved to be too powerful for them and they were almost killed. It was the Nine-tailed Demon Fox."

**!~¡**

Erza flew under another swipe from the giant Demon. They had been fighting for a while now, causing destruction in their path. At least she had managed to bring it to the outskirts of the town. The price for that had been high since now the entire Northern district was demolished. Each time the armoured sorceress pushed it back and tried to lure it away in the forest, the Behemoth would just turn its attention back to the houses and people before it. Only after she managed to cut one of its tusks and take one of its eyes did she garner enough attention for it to actually pursue her.

Unfortunately, Erza had to switch many times between armours and weapons to prevent civilian casualties and further destruction and was now once more in her **Black Wing Armour** holding her sabre. That had drained quite a lot of her power, but hopefully from now on she wouldn't have to worry about other people. Even better, she would be able to go all-out. Just one more attack to convince it she was the most pressing target and she would fly in the woods.

"**Black Wing: Moon Glimpse!" **She turned around and produced two consecutive cutting waves with her weapon in the form of a cross. To her pleasure her spell hit the Behemoth right where she intended – in his remaining right eye. Now the Demon was further blinded and only had his left pair to rely on. It let out a road filled with pain and fury and grabbed its wounded side. It turned towards the redhead and let out another giant fireball.

With the forest behind her, Erza didn't need to worry about any people getting hurt. She simply moved out of the way and entered the woods herself. The fireball incinerated a huge portion of the trees in a straight line. The redhead looked back and to her pleasure noticed the Behemoth was following her this time, experiencing difficulties in navigating around the flora. It couldn't fly because it would break its large wings in the trees so it was forced to follow her on the ground by foot. Still, Erza made sure she remained just out of reach, otherwise if she disappeared completely, the Demon might decide to go back to Nebula.

"Erza!" She heard a call and turned to her right to see Shika and Jiraiya fly beside her.

"What are you Caits doing here? I told you to rest and keep away" After they had flown with great speed back to the town, the two Exceed had collapsed from exhaustion. She had given them to some citizen and had rushed to save the Captain and his men.

"Cait Shelter members fight together with their partners. Right now you're out team-mate so we won't leave you."

"It's too dangerous to stay here!" Erza shouted as she ducked under a branch. She heard another roar of fury from behind which brought a smile to her face. Apparently the Demon had trouble seeing things on his right side.

"We are too fast for him to hit us" Jiraiya boasted.

"Besides, we might help you with a plan" Shika offered.

"I already have one prepared. I noticed the orb of light in his throat would pulse and emanate even more light each time it would breath fire. The barbed-wire looking lines would pulse in synch, which makes me think the orb is its heart and those lines are its veins and arteries. When we get a bit further, I will aim for that" Erza explained.

"I had thought of the same thing actually" Shika paused for a moment. "But there might be a problem with that. A while back, me and Naruto faced a Demon that had a similar orb in its chest. Back then Naruto aimed for it as well and he managed to destroy it but there was a huge explosion afterwards that caught us by surprise. We barely managed to escape the wave. This Demon's orb is bigger."

Erza licked her lips nervously "So it's probably going to result in a bigger explosion, right? Then I have to make sure we're quite far from town when I destroy it. Escaping it might be a bigger problem though."

"We can help you there. There was a small interval between the destruction and the explosion last time. I think we'd be able to fly away with our top speed if we get you then" Shika suggested.

Erza thought about it for a moment. With her magical power so drained, she might not be able to get away in time or summon enough protection. Their plan on the other hand sounded good. "All right, make sure you keep your distance while I'm fighting it. Once it's over, I'll be relying on you."

"Right!" the two Exceed responded and the trio kept flying through the woods, with the Behemoth hot on their tails.

**!~¡**

**Author's Ramblings:** Yey, this chapter marks going over 100 000 words! So happy ~

No random thoughts for me this time, so I will just jump into the **Q&A session**. Wait, I just got one.** SPOILER alert** from chapter 278, don't read this if you haven't read it:

So.. Who's that black-haired girl? She looks like a female version of Zeref. Anyone else got the same feeling? I mean even the clothes are similar, even though hers were black (like in the anime) while Zeref's were red in the manga. Also, it looks like it's going to be centred around Lucy, something I expected since.. Well, the beginning. Finally. I just hope it's awesome unlike things so far. If anyone understood what was written about her, I'd appreciate it if you told me. XD

**END OF SPOILER ~**

Unfortunately with Shika and Jiraiya fighting the Behemoth and Charle being Charle, they won't be able to join us today. But! I got other special guests!

**DSP:** I would like to welcome the Demon Brothers, Pif and Tif! Thank you guys for being able to join me in search short notice and why the hell are you wearing tuxedos?  
><strong>Pif:<strong> Well we wanted to look presentable..  
><strong>Tif:<strong> So we went and 'borrowed' some..  
><strong>Pif:<strong> We even got one for you..  
><strong>DSP:<strong> Wait, how do you know my size? No, guys, I'm all right, really, stop, there's no.. Argh!  
><strong>Pif:<strong> There we go..  
><strong>Tif:<strong> All dressed up.  
><strong>DSP:<strong> Can you make it less painful next time at least? And why did you bother anyway, the readers can't even see us!  
><strong>PifTif:** To annoy you!

**DSP:** Ugh, let's move on to the questions. I have a lot of them about the pairing, so I will say it again. I'd rather keep the story interesting and not reveal it right away. Plus, Naruto's romantic interest shouldn't be the most important part, I mean the action has barely started. If it was a romance centred story, I'd have labelled it Romance/Adventure. When you read a book, you don't see at the beginning who the main character is going to end up with.  
><strong>Tif:<strong> But at least you have the option of skipping ahead to those parts in the book to see.  
><strong>DSP:<strong> What would the point of that be? Sure you'll find out, but wouldn't it spoil the whole story?  
><strong>Pif:<strong> Some people are impatient and don't care.  
><strong>DSP:<strong> Well, sucks to be them then. Look, the story has just begun, right now there are only three ladies around Naruto and I just introduced the forth. I haven't even gone to canon characters, so just be patient. If you can't be, come back in ten chapters or write an extensive review to tell me why exactly am I an ass that no doubt links to repressed childhood or an unfortunate hit to the head from a swing.

**Pif:** My money's on the swing.  
><strong>Tif: <strong>I'm taking the less popular but possible hit from a car.

**DSP: **Starting off with **Narutomaniac **and his most recent review. He says he had difficulty with recognizing the readers from chapter 7 at this moment:  
><em>This is everything you've asked for. We've even gathered the reports for the past six months even though the first Demon sighting was four months ago." the Captain told them.<br>__"So many of them.. There must be hundreds. Are all of them related to the Demons?" Naruto turned towards Pike.  
>"Most" the man clenched his jaw and looked at the boxes.<br>"How many victims were there? Why haven't you asked for help sooner?" the blond frowned.  
>"I tried convincing the mayor but he wouldn't budge. At first he insisted they were just products of the mist and when the attacks started he would only order us to take care of it. As they increased, so did his convictions that we would deal with it ourselves."<br>"Those weren't any ordinary attacks from bandits. They were Demons, not something ordinary people can just deal with!"  
>"I know that! I even lost some of my men to those bastards!"<br>"Then why didn't you ask for help? Even if the mayor was stubborn or greedy, you could have bypassed him and contacted the Council! You're Captain of the Guard, your duty is to the people, not.."  
><em>**DSP:** I've taken the liberty of adding some of the sentences before that. The ones you mentioned were the lines** "Those weren't..", "I know that.." **and "**Then why.."** I thought I made it clear, since that whole dialogue is led only between Naruto and the Captain. I only mentioned those two saying lines, Erza and Shika were observing during the time. I am trying to limit myself from writing this guy said this, the other one said that, then the first said that, etc.  
><strong>Pif: <strong>Shouldn't that be used when there are only two speakers..  
><strong>Tif: <strong>Or the speakers have noticeable speech patterns like accents?  
><strong>DSP: <strong>That's right. Even though in this particular case there were more than two people present, out of them only two actually spoke, so I thought it would have been clear enough. I will keep it in mind for next time, thanks for that. ^^  
><strong>Tif: <strong>He was also hoping the battle would be good.  
><strong>Pif: <strong>I like them so far, except the part where we got our asses kicked.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Well, it's not over yet, the conclusion will be next chapter. So far it has been pretty one-sided though.  
><strong>Pif: <strong>He's a bit unhappy that Naruto is a Dragon Slayer and says it's been overused.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>You're not the first one to say that and I would really appreciate it if you've given me some examples. When I started writing this story, there were only five other Naruto x Fairy Tail stories that had over 100 000 words. Out of them, I've briefly read two and in neither was Naruto a Dragon Slayer. I tried reading another one where he was, but the author used so much Japanese words I could barely understand what they were saying so.. And from the other two or three good ones I've seen, Naruto was never a Dragon Slayer, but a ninja. So from now on if anyone feels like I'm doing something that's been overdone, particularly with Naruto being a Dragon Slayer, please tell me where. And it better be good. I don't like bragging, but there aren't many stories with proper grammar, spelling and punctuation out there and I put a lot of time in this to bring you high-quality writing where you don't have the sudden urge to claw your eyes out.  
><strong>Tif: <strong>Well, there's the fact you have a lot of original characters and original plot-lines planned as well.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>That's true, we're only at the beginning of something that should be at least three times longer. I'm not specifically trying to be original or anything, I just saw something, got an idea I thought would look great and went on to expand it. But it does annoy me a bit when people say it's been overdone and point at stories that are either dead or you get the urge to find the writer and buy him a couple of English textbooks. Not to mention there's the Kyuubi loose in Earth Land AND leading its own guild.  
>Oh and I'm not pissed at you personally or anything, I rather enjoy reading your reviews. The ones with Naruto getting an imprint of the mages that summoned him or moulding pure magic were very interesting ideas.<p>

**Pif: Lanky Nathan **asks if this is your first fic.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Yep. I've drafted ideas for stories and novels in the past, created and developed characters, but never actually sat down to write the story. I never had the motivation, not one of the ideas made me go 'Wow, I definitely have to write this'. When I started reading fanfiction, the prospect of writing came to me, but I always dismissed it. Until I got this idea and the inspiration wouldn't leave me alone.

**Tif: OoOXylionOoO **asks if you've stopped writing this story?  
><strong>Pif: <strong>Well, that was obviously during the big update hole between chapter 6 and 7, so no need to answer that.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>I will do my best to finish this story, so even if I go over a month without updating, it's probably because I'm writing the whole arc or something else. If it goes more than two months, it would mean I'm dead. Thanks for the reviews! Oh and what didn't you like in particular of chapter 7? I did expect it wouldn't be liked that much, since it's a build-up chapter.

**Pif: Orchamus **explains what the **Jikudan Kekkei **is.  
><strong>Tif: Hypothetical Spiritual Entity <strong>also explained it.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Thanks for that. I wasn't sure if you meant the barrier or his ability to sense enemies by touching the ground, like Tobirama. Minato can be such a bad-ass sometimes, despite his occasional poor decision making.

**Tif: Perseus peverell **expresses his annoyance at the story becoming a drag, since you've reached the 100k words and haven't even gotten into the story-line.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Which one? I have several story-lines, so you have to be more specific. If you mean canon, what gave you the impression the canon story-line is going to be the main one? Why do you think there aren't many things happening behind the canon story-line that were probably never shown? Besides, I had to do an introduction to establish the characters and the setting, I couldn't just start at the middle, right? I'm not saying I'll be ignoring canon events, but in this particular story, Cait Shelter has their own problems.

**Pif: Mzr90 **suggests Temari, Hinata or Kurenai for Exceed.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Well, Temari's kind of too serious, I hate Hinata and I couldn't catch that much of Kurenai's personality from canon so I don't know how to properly make her funny.

**Tif: Mbshadow **says you might have ADHD or ADD.  
><strong>Pif: <strong>That would actually make a lot of sense.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Hm.. I know of them but it never actually crossed my mind. It really does explain a lot. Maybe I should talk to my doc.

**Pif: soulofdragon1 **is asking when is your next update going to be?  
><strong>DSP: <strong>For this chapter it's today. Har har, I'm so funny.  
><strong>Tif: <strong>Aha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Yes, yes, you can stop now. As for chapter 9.. I don't know, in 5 days maybe? When I have chapter 10 completed probably.

**Tif: Dragonking20 **thought the development would have either been interesting or funny.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Well, I was shooting for interesting with some funny mixed in as well. I hope I managed to pull it off.  
><strong>Pif: <strong>He also thought the secretary was somehow involved.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Congratulations for guessing it correctly! Lilith sure is a good actress, isn't she?

**Tif: TheHokageNaruto **suggests a Plant Dragon Slayer, that could be a vegetarian.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Yeah, this was already suggested to me by my friend **X009, **when I was going over possibilities. He even developed a pretty interesting concept. Unfortunately, I don't think Dragon Slayers can use living being magic. The idea about the Slayer being vegetarian made me laugh though.

**Tif: Silently Watching **is asking how does Cait Shelter get funds?  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Well, I won't say too much about the mechanics behind how Cait Shelter or independent guilds operate exactly so I don't spoil it. But they do take on S-class assignments handed directly from the Council, usually about things that the other guilds don't want to get involved in. They pay a lot and even if their gear (or rather Naruto's) is expensive, they still have enough left-over to go by. Naruto also mentioned treasure hunting. All I'll say is that you will see exactly how it works later on maybe?

**Pif: TRdmd **complains the story is too chaotic with so many characters in.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Ugh, I know what you mean. I haven't even introduced all the original ones yet. I should warn you, it will get more chaotic in the future with more characters. I won't neglect the canon ones though, don't worry.. Not too much anyway.

**Tif: Emeraldfox5723 **asks if Naruto will join Fairy Tail eventually?  
><strong>Pif: <strong>Oooh, I want to know that as well. It seems like they have a really nice set-up going on for them.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>I won't spoil it.

**Pif: The Prophet Of Lies **enjoys the story, but does skip some of the descriptions for **The Knight.**  
><strong>DSP: <strong>That's all right. I do them, because I need to practice descriptions and I can't expect everyone that reads the story to have also read Fairy Tail as well.

**Pif: **That's all of them!  
><strong>Tif: <strong>Awww, I wanted to hang out more.  
><strong>DSP: <strong>Don't worry guys, you might make future appearances as well. If you could bring in Akasha as well, that'd be great. Hm.. On second thought..

That's it for Chapter 8 of **'Fairy Tail's Orange Flash'**. I hope you enjoyed it and if you did, please leave a couple of sentences to tell me so. If you didn't, please tell me why. Thank you all for reading. Ta-ta ~

**!~¡**


	9. Chapter 9 Sleeping wet Caits

**!~¡**

**Hello, my wonderful readers!**

**First, let me sincerely apologize to you all for how long this took. There were many various resasons behind it, but in the end those would be nothing but excuses. More on this in the end, since I believe you would prefer to just get on with the story.**

**I recommend you read chapter 8 beforehand, since its been quite a while since this update (this is probably the moment I'll be avalanched with "Is that so? And whose fault would that be?") and most of you probably have forgotten what happened last time.**

**Last thing, before I seize my obnoxious rambling (don't worry, it shall return to plague our lives later) – Thanks to everyone for the private messages, wonderful reviews and constant support throughout these past months. Even though I have most likely disappointed you with my lack of consistency, the same way I have disappointed myself, I promise I will do my best to improve as an author.**

**Finally, enjoy !~**

**!~¡**

Chapter 9: Sleeping wet Caits

**!~¡**

"What!"

Naruto's sudden interruption startled Lilith, making her jump away from the blond, who had in turn jumped on all fours and moved even closer.

"What the heaven!"

"What did you say?"

"Lucifer, don't surprise me like that!"

"Yeah, sorry. Now have I heard right, they are the ones responsible for summoning the stupid Fox here?"

"Well.. Yeah. Wait, how do you know of Nine-tails?"

"I.." the blond trailed off for a moment before he sat down again "I have a history with him." An unfamiliar feeling settled upon his whole body. Despite the numerous collisions with Nove Volpi, to this day he had only witnessed the power of the Demon Fox once – through the Forth Hokage's memories from the night of his birth. The power displayed by Kyuubi back then had been enough to leave much more than a lasting impression in Naruto. Although he was going after the Fox himself and would have to face it eventually, in reality Wright and Sleeck had managed to not only summon it from another dimension, but break the seal of the prison, extract it and still survive the encounter. Forget about summoning and controlling an army of Demons, that alone spoke volumes of their power. Yet..

"Why did they fail?"

"I don't know.. They did manage to survive even if they have some scars leftover. As you might have been able to tell, Wright's mind was shattered. You don't even want to know what's under the hat, just be grateful it covers his face completely."

"I imagine the smell is a souvenir as well?" Naruto cringed his noise remembering it.

At the mention of the stench, Lilith couldn't help but cringe as well "Actually, I think he created that himself, a true testament of his insanity. And Sleeck.. His fate is even worse."

"Okay.. So what's their endgame? They want to take revenge on the Fox?"

"Possibly, I don't know. They might want to restore their bodies, although I get the feeling Sleeck is enjoying his predicament. Immortality might have been mentioned once or twice. Honestly, I have no idea. All I have learnt and told you so far is from Wright's own mouth. In the rare moments of lucidity he might explain his methods or talk about the past. Most of the time though, I get the impression he is more likely to completely forget about anyone else's existence in the room and simply talk to himself."

"Talk about a mental case" Naruto let out a dismissive snort, prompting a serious look from Lilith.

"Do not make the mistake of underestimating him, Naruto. Many have done so, including myself, and look where it has got me. There is a brilliant mind hiding somewhere in the depths of Cornelius Wright's insanity. He was the one that developed the potion they are using to subdue us. Sleeck provided the test subjects, although I am certain he would have been able to find a way as well eventually."

Lilith's reprimanding tone was like a bucket filled with ice-cold water poured over Naruto's back. Once again he recalled exactly what he was dealing with – two powerful individuals, most likely S-class mages in their own right, capable enough to face the Fox, his goal, and survive. The only person he knew that was able to defeat Nine-tails had to give his life in the process. And Naruto didn't consider it that much of a victory anyway. The blond swallowed the lump in his throat and..

Wait a second. A lump? Since when? What was this feeling anyway? So they faced the Fox, big deal! He was going to do that as well one day! They were just regular insane bad guys with some outrages goals that he needed to beat. That's right, all he needed to do was complete his true task and then defeat Wright. Nothing more, nothing less. Speaking of that, Naruto ignored the tiny voice in his head that kept whispering this time it might not actually be that easy and stood up. He looked down at Lilith and reached for his pocket.

"All right, we should get going. Before that, there's something I need you to look at first" the blond took out a piece of paper and handed it to the Demoness. "Have you seen this before?"

Lilith took the piece of paper and looked at it – it was a drawing of a key. The handle of the key had the shape of a spade, while the bottom looked like a skull with sharp teeth. She turned to Naruto "What is this?"

"I have no clue. I am looking for something that belongs to Wright and has that exact same mark on it."

The Demoness lifted a brow at the blond and turned back to the drawing. Studying it once more, she went through her memories from the time spent around Wright. Unfortunately, there was not a single one when she gave the piece of paper back to the young mage "Sorry, I have never seen it before. It would have helped if you told me what type of thing you are looking for."

Naruto let out a sigh and took the drawing, giving it a thoughtful look of his own "Yeah, you're right, that would have been helpful. I was just told it had this mark, nothing more." Shaking his head, he returned it back to his pocket.

"Well then, I suggest you start off with Wright's personal study. It's on the second floor on the west side of the mansion. After you exit the basement, go to your right and look up. There are four windows, the one of the study is the second from the left."

"That.. Helps a lot actually. It would save me the trouble of searching over the entire mansion while doing everything possible not to alert an insane, homicidal and most likely paranoid S-class mage to my presence" the blond gave a grateful smile to the Demoness. Who in turned decided such happiness shouldn't be expressed so early.

"I wouldn't be that optimistic if I were you. There's no guarantee whatever you're looking for will be there. For all you know, it could be in one of Wright's own pockets."

"Well aren't you just a bundle of optimism. Thanks, I really needed that."

"Actually, out of my sisters I am the most optimistic one" Lilith let out a small smile. A part of her was telling her she shouldn't really annoy her new ally considering her freedom depended on him. Yet another, much bigger part of her was taking utmost pleasure in Naruto's current expression, reassuring her this was merely pay-back for the earlier annoyance.

"Boy, I sure can't wait to meet them. Wait, scratch that, already met one. I don't think I made a good first impression" the blond let out a sigh before he continued "I better get going, can't waste any more time in such a pleasant company."

"Such a charmer" Lilith let out a snort before something came to her mind "Wait! How are we going to keep in touch?"

Naruto blinked a few times at the Demoness before he smacked his forehead. What was wrong with him tonight? He took out one of his three-pronged kunai and began turning the ring at the end. "You know anything about Rune magic?"

Lilith simply shook her head.

"Good" the blond took off the ring and removed the orange cylinder that had been a part of the handle and handed it over to her "Take this and hide it somewhere on your body. When you're in the clear, channel your magical power through it and I'll be with you within an hour."

"What if you're busy with something?" Lilith took the cylinder and looked over the markings painted on it.

"That's why I said an hour. And don't worry, you're a priority right now so unless I have another appointment with either a jail cell or a bag of bones wielding a scythe, I will come."

"Can I paint it over? If I'm going to conceal it somewhere, orange isn't really the colour that screams 'nothing to see here'."

"Everyone's a critic." A mock hurt expression was painted on Naruto's face, which only served to amuse Lilith, before he continued "Don't worry about it, do whatever you need to. Since you don't know anything about Rune magic, there's no threat of disrupting the runes. Just don't break it or something."

"All right, I'll think of something."

"Good. See you when I see you then" Naruto turned his back and made a couple of steps before he heard her call back from behind.

"Wait!" Turning around the blond was met by Lilith's serious expression. And her outstretched hand. A small tornado began forming above it, steadily growing in volume and intensity. Before Naruto could ask what she was doing, the funnel shot up and twisted towards him. It took the blond only a second to overcome his surprise and utilize his scales to grab the Air spell and consume it. Immediately feeling a surge of power, he looked at the Demoness, not even needing to have any sort of query present in his eyes.

"That was most of my magical energy. Since you can restore your power faster with that, I figured you might need it more considering what you are about to face." A simple explanation, without her gaze being present anywhere near him was what he got. A bit surprised and confused by that action, Naruto managed to utter a simple response as well in the form of a "Thanks."

"Don't. There's not much else I can really do now, can I?" Lilith asked rhetorically turning to him only for a moment before looking away once more. "Thank me by beating him and freeing me and my family."

Despite his general obliviousness, Naruto understood his newest ally's frustrations. Being forced to swallow your pride and rely on someone you consider inferior, especially if you're supposed to be high class or something can be a really hard feat. Just one more thing that shows how desperate the Demoness actually was. For that reason, the blond gave her a simple, wordless nod before turning his back to her and moving down the corridor towards the exit.

Finding himself back at the yard, the young mage immediately looked up, locating the window Lilith had told him about.

There was an interesting play at work here. In a situation like this, one would usually express some doubt for their newest ally. They could have always put up a little theatrical performance just to make one's guard fall down and trap them in a conveniently positioned ambush later on. One wasn't Naruto. Instead of concerning himself with minor details like that, he would opt to trust his new friends completely. He was well aware of the possibility of betrayal and still he would do so without hesitation. If he did end up getting trapped in a performance deserving of Fiore's Theatre Academy Awards, then he would find a way to deal with that. Besides, he had no reason to even suspect Lilith yet. The expressions painted on her face, the frustration showed through her body language, it all pointed to the same conclusion – she desperately wanted to get away, to save herself and to get her freedom back.

Willing naiveté was among the things Shika called it. Alongside terms like 'incredibly annoying', 'downright stupid', 'having a death wish', and his personal favourite – 'troublesome'. Then again, judging by his record so far even the lazy Exceed had to admit Naruto was either an excellent judge of character or extremely lucky.

That is why all thoughts of a possible set-up were not present in the blond's mind. He would still take some level of precaution against things like a security-spell system, an anti-break-in ward or even a pool filled with acid and inhabited by a swarm of Acid Sharks**[1]**. He would never consider the possibility of the room sealing itself off completely the moment an intruder came in. Or the possibility of a poisonous gas being filled in said room, making it completely uninhabitable. And he would be right.

"**Spectral winds that veil the heavens.. Sky Resonance!" **

Naruto immediately felt the spell taking effect. After a brief moment he checked his whole body and made sure he was completely invisible. **Resonance **was a spell developed after Mistgun's own mist form, with the help of the Edolas prince himself. Despite not having any magical power of his own, he still possessed vast knowledge of the arts, enough to make him a fierce adversary. As for the spell itself, it was potent enough to deceive all but the most perceptive of mages. It also happened to be Jiraiya's most desired spell, the reason being it would make his information gathering much easier. When it came to job related and non-related things of course.

With a simple jump, Naruto placed his feet on the wall and began climbing towards the window. There was not even a sliver of light present in the room which was a surprisingly good thing. It meant most likely no one was in it, so the blond could continue with the stealthy movement. Not finding any conveniently placed cracks through which he could seep into the room, he opted to put a kunai between the two frames and removed the simple lock. Luckily for him, people did not think tougher security would be needed when they had a whole army of Demons guarding the mansion.

With the opening of the window, Naruto also opened a metaphorical door to traces of the horrid stench that usually surrounded Wright, coupled with the distinct smell of old, dusty paper. Judging by the powerful presence of the odour, the insane Demon summoner liked spending quite a lot of time in this particular room. Smell or not, the blond did not have much of a choice and after taking a last breath of fresh air entered the study. Whilst the idea of leaving the window open was oh so tempting, the last thing he needed right now was for Wright to enter the room and become paranoid.

The young mage took out a small lacryma crystal from his pocket and placed it on his forehead protector. After channelling some of his power into it, he had to suppress a chuckle as he imagined the picture of a floating light with no apparent source and the various expressions most people would make after seeing it. His sense of humour quickly diminished after he saw the state of the room.

It was a complete mess! There were papers and books scattered all around the floor, the top of the desk looked like a self-sustaining chaotic ecosystem and things like boxes and bottles were simply thrown around the various shelves. Even though he was a bit**[2]** of a messy person himself, this far surpassed what he had ever done, which was an achievement in its own right. And the worst part was now he had to sort out through the chaos without even having had the pleasure of creating it himself.

Naruto went to the middle of the room and began scanning it, slowly turning his body around and looking for anything that would catch his eye. From time to time he would either bend down to the floor or rush to one of the bookcases, let out a disappointed sigh and return back to the middle. He had almost given up and considered starting with the desk when he noticed a bunch of leather cylinders on one of the many shelves. Going closer to them, he guessed they most likely contained maps or some sort of drawings. What had caught his attention actually was a black smaller one with some sort of red lines. Taking it into his hand, he immediately noticed it had a cold feel to it, as if he was touching marble, rather than leather. The red lines looked more like vines stretching along the surface and he wasn't sure if it was because of the air or the fact he might have been a little tired, but it seemed like they were moving under the soft light coming from the crystal, that was utterly consumed by the obsidian surface. The blond followed them with a finger, feeling a slight tingly sensation, until they concentrated in the middle, around the drawing of a key with a handle in the shape of a spade and the bottom looking like a skull with sharp teeth.

Doing his best to suppress the yell of victory, the young mage still shot out his arms in furor. Bringing the object back down, he gave it a closer inspection, double-checking the symbol and noticing there was no actual lid, as if it was completely sealed off. Well, that wasn't his problem really, his task had been to find the blasted thing. All those months spent tracking Wright had finally come to fruition with the added bonus of ruining the Demon summoner's plans in the process. Now all he needed to do was confront the insane mage and finish that part of the task. Right.

Pocketing the cylinder and making sure it was secured properly, Naruto cut the power to the crystal and took it away as well. Taking a couple of minutes to properly adjust his sight to the darkness, he went to the door and grabbed the handle. After taking another deep breath, the blond began opening the door slowly. He noticed a dim light coming from the hallway, a product from a few candles in candlesticks on the wall. With the lack of presence of anyone else, he moved out of the room and closed the door silently. Preparing for the next part as much as he could, Naruto took a deep whiff. After all, his best bet of finding Wright was to follow the smell, which included him not passing out or vomiting his guts out, something he managed to avoid with extreme difficulty.

He did menage to discover Wright was actually on the same floor. Letting his nose lead him, Naruto went up to one of the doors at the end of the hallway, right next to the staircase leading down. His blood froze though when he heard muffled voices from the inside. Not being able to actually make out any of the words being said, the blond gulped silently, grabbed the handle and with an extremely slow motion that felt like an eternity slightly opened the door.

".. And with the addition of Scarlet and Marvell's souls, I believe we will have enough to proceed with the next phase of our plan!" Naruto immediately recognized Wright's voices. Peaking in the inside, he saw the back of the insane summoner, who was apparently talking to a giant lacryma crystal.

"That is good, yeees. It is still too early to challenge the Nine-tailed Demon Fox, nooo." Could that be the other one, Sleeck?

"Especially since we can't even pinpoint its location!" The blond turned into air and seeped into the room, taking position on the ceiling. He hoped he wouldn't have needed to do this, since it took a huge amount of concentration to move slowly and carried the risk of being detected easily. He immediately looked over to Wright and did his best not to sigh in relief at the fact the summoner had not caught whiff of his actions.

"Patience, my friend. In time, we will locate the Fox and its power will be ours, yeees." Now that he was in the room, he could practically see the cloud of foul smell with his nose. It was emanating from the blue robbed mage and circling him in a protective manner.

"Why don't we try summoning one of the other Tailed Demons? We could use it as bait and it would also make a nice addition to our assets." The blond quickly devised a plan for taking down Wright. He would blast the cloud away, summon winds around himself to keep it further away from counter attacking and use the element of surprise to strike its master down.

"I don't believe we are ready for something like that yet, nooo. First, we need to test your new potion and for that we need to see exactly how much energy you've managed to gather from Nebula." For now, Naruto would just listen and be prepared to jump him in a moment's notice. He needed all the information he could get about these two after all.

Cornelius let out a snort before he continued "Speaking of that, have you made any headway in locating Babajide and Morgana?" Naruto's heart jumped at that. Morgana? Did he mean Erza's guild-mate?

"I am coming close to Babajide, yeees. He is tracking closely the movements of that guild and doing his best to conceal himself. Unfortunately for him, the trail of corpses he's leaving is more than enough for me to follow him and eventually.. meeeeeting him." The blond tried looking over at the person speaking from the lacryma but all he could make out was a cloaked figure. "As for Morgana, she still hasn't made anything to signify even a remote clue to her location, nooo" Sleeck continued on.

"Hah! I still find it hard to believe she is a part of a goody guild like Fairy Tail. Are you even sure she is alive still?"

"She did make an appearance once or twice, yeees. And I am keeping that guild under surveillance, if she were to die it would not go past by me, nooo."

"Maybe we shouldn't keep going with only watching that guild. Maybe we should pay them a visit. I wonder if they know of her past involvement with us."

"It would be unwise to challenge that old fool, Makarov, nooo. He is still one of the Ten Wizard Saints, yeees."

"Then let's send her a message. How lucky for us that Erza Scarlet is here and has provided us with means to do so too!"

"Aaaah, I always enjoy that cruel side of yours, Cornelius. I cannot wait to see the fruits of your labour, yeees."

For a response, the blue robbed mage simply began laughing maniacally and was soon joined by Sleeck as well. Naruto on the other hand concluded he really was dealing with a bunch of lunatics. Time to finish the job then.

"Now if you'll excuse me" Wright suddenly spoke "a nosy cat seems to have managed to sneak into the mansion."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise and his nose flared as he sensed the cloud of foulness shot up towards him.

**!~¡**

Weak points. It is generally believed that any type of obstacle, be it a monster or a giant wall, has one. They vary in sizes and shapes and are usually very hard to find. For example, in the past people believed that Dragons had a small spot upon their body not covered in scales and there are legends of people slaying them with a single arrow. It is said the first Dragon Slayers were born that way, although nowadays they don't really need to use primitive tools like a bow and arrow, opting to simply beat the living hell out of a Dragon with its own magic. Another example is the giant satellite Aetherion orbiting around Earth Land. It is a well kept secret that only a select few individuals know of, that there is an open shaft on the exterior. If an offensive spell were to enter the shaft it would be able to reach the core of the satellite square, resulting in the explosion of the entire device. Of course, in both instances producing a shot that would be able to reach both targets would be nearly impossible without the help of some divine intervention.

That was the thing about weak points. Finding them was actually the easy part. Hitting them was a whole other story. And that was the exact frustrating situation Erza found herself in. Yeah, the giant glaring orb was a pretty good clue on what the redhead should aim for. There was just the minor detail of the extremely thick skin she had to go through. As if penetrating it was not hard enough, the thing actually pulsated every time the Behemoth spewed fire, as if to taunt her. The nerve!

Despite her growing annoyance, Erza still managed to keep enough of her cool to realize she had to abandon using the **Black Wing Armour**, which was quite unfortunate considering it was one of her best offensive armours. The fact her attacks didn't penetrate the Demon's thick armour much meant she needed something much stronger. She had such armours, but they usually brought large changes to the landscape with the demise of her foes. If you include the addition of the blast from the destruction of the orb things would look pretty bad for Nebula's future tourists, unless they were of the giant crater loving sort**[3]**. No, she needed something stronger, more concentrated. An attack that would not make things messier than they already were.

An idea came to her mind that almost made her smile. Now all she needed was a distraction long enough to set things in motion. Fortunately, her current position was such that her eyes were looking straight up at the sky where a pair of flying cats were circling above her. This time she could not hold her smile.

"WRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARR RRW!"

Erza found herself being rapidly covered in saliva and the Behemoth's foul breath from underneath the beast's paw. Her view of the sky was suddenly covered by the Demon's approaching maw. The only thing left for her to do now was free herself and approach the Exceed before she was intimately acquainted with Animodu's internal digestive tract. Requipping two swords near her, the young sorceress took hold of them with her telekinesis and sent them into the creature's mouth, stabbing the palate with the first and jamming the second in the gums between two teeth.

Her overgrown opponent actually defied the laws of physics by jumping backwards from the enormous pain and began trashing around and attempting to reach the grossly offending weapons. Actions that have conveniently freed Erza from captivity proved by the fact the redhead was now flying upwards towards the two Exceed.

"That must have hurt. I definitely wouldn't want to get on your bad side" Jiraiya found himself re-evaluating his decision on using the scarlet beauty as a template for his latest story. Then again, he settled on abandoning all reason and finding comfort in the fact she probably wouldn't do anything like that to a friend.

Erza merely spared a glance at the white cat "Thank you"

"I'm not sure that was meant as a compliment" Shika chimed in.

"No not for that" the redhead gave the cats a smile that made both of them nervous "For volunteering."

Only feeling his nervousness increase, Jiraiya spoke "Volunteering? For what?"

The redhead looked underneath them at the still trashing and roaring Behemoth and still keeping her smile, responded "Distraction"

This had not been a good day for Animodu. Sure, it started promising – a large quantity of souls were sacrificed in his name which was usually a forecast calling for a night filled with havoc, mass murder and serial arson with a hundred percent chances of sacrifice. A surprise showing of a redhead flurry ruined his plans of mayhem, but the Demon had thought he would continue after it passed. Unfortunately, he hadn't been aware that the storm that was Erza Scarlet's fury did not simply 'pass'. It usually brought an insurmountable amount of devastation directed at her target and any adjacent bystanders who were unfortunate enough to miss the distant thunders in her eyes.

She had cut his horn, blinded two of his eyes and carved over a dozen of slashes upon his body. The worst part – it looked like she was just starting. When Animodu had thought he had finally managed to capture her, the redhead had not even twitched in fear. Instead, she opted for stabbing him in the most infuriating and painful of places. And now after he managed to get rid of the offending swords, two flying cats appeared out of nowhere, as if falling from the sky. They started taunting him with his actions, flying dangerously close to his injured mouth as if challenging him to eat them and even going as far as landing on his head and stomping around it, particularly over his blinded eyes. Confused, wounded and extremely annoyed, Animodu did the most natural thing for his situation – with a roar, he violently began trashing around, trying to hit the annoying felines and turn them into nothing more than a flattened paste below his paw. Right according to Erza's plan.

The redhead regarded the whole situation, waiting for the opportune moment. Her scheme was working well so far, yet she could not dilly-dally for long. Despite Shika and Jiraiya's speedy annoyance, they could run out of energy at any moment and they all needed that for the escape. Right as that thought passed the giant Demon slammed his paws onto the ground in his latest attempt, making Erza spring into action.

"**Heaven's Wheel: Blumenblatt[4]!"**

She flew from behind the Behemoth and went underneath him, striking all of his legs as she passed by them. Before the creature could even register his latest wound, nearly thirty swords appeared and pinned his paws to the ground. Animodu let out a pain-filled scream and began making attempts to free himself, while Erza stopped and turned to face him.

"Shikamaru, Jiraiya, get ready!" her scream echoed in the woods as the **Heaven's Wheel Armour **was engulfed in light, changing into **The** **Giant's Armour**. Right as the **Evil Crushing spear **appeared in her hand and Erza prepared to throw it, the Exceed wrapped their tails around her waist.

The Behemoth made another attempt to free his paws which only brought him further pain. A sudden light in front of him caught his attention and the giant Demon gazed right into his slayer's eyes, with the sudden realization of his utter defeat settling in. The final thing he heard was Erza's scream, the final thing he saw was the approaching spear, the final thing he felt was the piercing pain that went right through his body.

The redhead watched her weapon fly away from the creature's back before the giant beast fell to the ground, dead before it even touched it. Light began leaking from the two new holes on the glowing orb and spreading around Animodu's body. That was their cue to make themselves scarce. She felt the yanking at her waist and the pressure from the sudden acceleration from the Exceed's top speed. A blinding light lit the heavens turning night into day before it was followed by the deafening sound of an enormous explosion.

Shikamaru flew with all of his strength when everything became white. He instantly realized that they had a few seconds at most before the shock wave caught up with them. He hoped it would be enough for his plan. And there it was, the lake they had seen when they first arrived at Nebula. It was so close, yet at the same time out of reach. He felt the last of his magical energy drain away and realized they were not going to make it. Funny, while he did expect one of Naruto's adventures would be the death of him, he always believed that if he were to go it would be beside his best friend, with his final words being something along the lines of "Told you so."

Suddenly he felt an instantaneous increase in his passenger's weight. Great, now they really had no chances. Then Shika realized the blast had reached them but something had shielded them. That realization happened while they were being propelled at top speed towards the lake. Another realization came to him that with the state they were all in, swimming might prove a bit hard. Downright impossible even. The final thing he managed to do before the trio hit the water with a resounding splash was grab ahold of the three-pronged kunai on his back.

**!~¡**

A small pile of debris shuffled before an orange-clad mage emerged from it. That last explosion had been huge. Had he not used **Armour** in the last second, he would have been severely hurt if not even worse. While healing his bruised left hand, Naruto had to admit, Wright was quite the capable foe. The blond had discovered that while the foul cloud could move around and attack it was constantly linked to the insane mage and could return in a matter of seconds. What was worse, he needed to keep a constant flow of wind around him, otherwise he would run the risk of inhaling the foul stench, resulting in the sapping of his power. And despite the fact that defence worked and Naruto could even blow the cloud away with his wind, he had discovered that while the wretched thing was close to Wright, it became much stronger. Not only was the small cyclone around him not enough to keep it away, but it also withstood any Air magic attacks. Unfortunately for Naruto, his attack style was more up close and personal and did not sport many ranged spells at the moment.

That had not even been the start of it. Wright clearly had the upper hand in a ranged battle, employing abilities the blond had never seen before to control the battlefield. The insane caster took control of several magic infused chemicals, including a number of acids and directed them at the young Dragon Slayer. At first it had been rather easy, all Naruto had to do was simply dodge the substances and look for an opportunity for a counter attack. He had thrown a couple of **Lances**, some **Air Explosions** and even tried getting a **Spiralling Orb **in. His attempt resulted in the destruction of the floor and the battle moving onto the base level of the mansion. Yet, that change of scenery had been the only change in their duel, until two chemical substances happened to meet not so accidently and produced an explosion that caught the blond off guard and nearly embedded him in a wall.

With the dust settling in, Naruto took a moment to look into the new room he had crashed into. It was at least three times larger than the room with the lacryma crystal and even the study. Like them though it still had a large number of shelves and tables, the only difference being the presence of multiple chemistry tubes, vials and other glassware that were all intertwined into complex systems filled with bubbling liquids and that peculiar kind of misty steam that usually meant you were in deep trouble. All that was completed with enough bright colours to send an epileptic into a seizing frenzy or a cocktail lover into liver orgasm.

"Ah, I see you've discovered my wonderful lab" Naruto heard a voice from behind which made him jump a couple of meters away before turning to see Wright entering from the hole.

"Marvellous, is it not? And just in time too, I was beginning to run out of bottles with alchemical reactions" the insane sorcerer continued walking in while the blond cursed at letting himself be led here like that. The last thing he needed now was a room filled with alchemical elements and potions which his opponent could clearly employ.. Wait, alchemical? Realization dawned upon Naruto – Wright had been using Alchemy, a field of magical science focused on the study of magical elements and their usage. That did not help him at all though, considering he did not know anything else about it.

"Here, let me show you my latest invention" the newly discovered Alchemist interrupted the blond's thoughts by extended his arm. A jar flew into it before he released the lid "Lightning in a jar!"

He had not been kidding. A lightning really did shoot out from the jar and Naruto had been barely able to turn into wind. He heard an unsettling sound of shattering glass behind him and only managed to turn around and see the lightning had hit a couple of vials filled with sparkling magenta liquid before he was blown away from the resulting explosion.

The blond reformed a couple of meters away right next to one of the walls. Most likely Wright had expected him to dodge the lightning and Naruto realized the situation had gone downhill. His opponent had been doing a splendid task at controlling the space of the battle before with only the vials he had been carrying. But now, they were in a place with a much larger amount of alchemical substances or rather, potential traps and attacks. The young Dragon Slayer had to get out of this room and even the mansion immediately, since Wright had the home-field advantage in these closed quarters. Outside in the open space of the yard and the fresh air would be a different story. Forming an **Orb **in his hand, he intended to bring the wall down until he was forced to dodge two suspiciously blue waves of unknown liquid.

"Leaving so soon? Such a shame, you only just arrived. I haven't even got the chance to treat you properly. I must insist you stay" Wright's words seemed to have triggered the wall itself to come to life as the hole behind him began repairing itself and even the only door in the room started to disappear in the stone. In the meantime, several vials began bursting with their contents flying around the summoner, no doubt ready to move at his command.

The same unfamiliar feeling from earlier began settling upon Naruto again. Damn it, now was not the time for something like that. Fine, if Wright would challenge him like that, then he would not run away. He quickly checked and saw he had five kunai left. That should be enough for what the blond had in mind. It was time to show his adversary he was not the only one that could control the battlefield.

Jumping to the right, the Dragon Slayer avoided another acidic liquid that began eating away the floor he had just been standing on. That had been another trap though since two more waves converged on his new location from different angles. This time Naruto didn't make any attempt of dodging and instead pointed his arms at them.

"**Sky Dragon's Wings!" **The cyclones that shot from his palms blew the chemicals away, but did not stop only at that. The blond began moving his arms making his spell constantly change directions while still producing the wind, clearing the space around him by flipping two tables away. Not surprisingly , the glassware shattered in the air and the contents moved close to Wright before they were spilled on the ground. By the time he was done, the whole room was filled with snake-like rapid moving air funnels. Keeping them constantly up would drain his energy faster, yet it did not matter since he was betting it all on this.

"What is this? You think this will be enough to stop me, boy?" Wright directed a couple of his alchemicals at the blond. He had taken the opportunity to position them in a surrounding pattern to make sure the Dragon Slayer would not have a way to escape. And if he turned into air again, there would be an explosive surprise for him. However, to the insane sorcerer's surprise not even one of his molding spells managed to reach Naruto. In fact, they hardly even came close, instead getting caught up in the network of cyclones around the room.

The young mage could not even keep his smile when he grabbed a three-pronged kunai. His play was not a defensive one and it was time to show his opponent. After taking aim, he flicked his weapon at his intended target.

Wright regarded the kunai before directing one of his more potent acids on an interception course. Was that it? If direct Air spells could not work, Marvell would resolve to simple projectile attacks? Cornelius felt a bit disappointed at this. His disappointment was quickly replaced with shocked surprise when the kunai got caught up into one of the cyclones and completely changed its course. And before he could even muster some sort of defence, Cornelius felt a painful stab in his leg.

"You" he shouted grabbing the handle "You brat! I will murder you!" With a painful scream he took out the weapon and dropped it on the ground. Luckily for him he had not been hit in any major artery. Looking up at the blond, he saw him holding four more kunai, two in each hand.

"**Power of the stout arms that tears the heaven.. Amzu!" **Naruto chanted forming four small cyclones around his last weapons that would increase their penetrating power greatly. Opening his silted eyes he looked directly at Wright before speaking "My best friend asked me so I'll give you a chance. Surrender now, before I turn you into a pincushion."

"So sure you have won? Aren't you being a little too arrogant, boy?"

For a response, Naruto simply threw the kunai in the air where they were immediately picked up by the rapid air currents. After flying around the room for a few seconds, they all converged onto Wright. The blue-clad mage though slapped his hands together. In an instant, some of the alchemicals floating behind him merged before surrounding him in a protective manner, creating a wall of highly corrosive acid. Reinforced with a large amount of his magical power, of course not even a speck was left from the kunai before they reached him. Wright took pleasure in his opponent's shocked expression before making the liquids alchemically moulded into snakes, slithering towards the blond, attack.

Surprised, Naruto could only turn into air and attempt to escape. Unfortunately for him that triggered a reaction resulting into a fiery explosion. After the debris settled down, the Dragon Slayer was lying face-first on the ground without the slightest of movement to signify he was even still alive. All of the air currents in the room seized, showing the spell had been most likely forcefully ended.

"Such is the folly of the arrogant. Too confident in your win you failed to notice my hidden spells. And now, just to make sure.." Wright directed the cloud of foul smell towards the blond. He was half hoping the Dragon Slayer was still alive, just so he could take pleasure into suffocating the life out of him. Before his pet could do that, the body of his opponent simply vanished in an orange blur.

Naruto grabbed the kunai in front of Wright's feet and instantly made an upper slash. He had only two to three seconds before the cloud came back to protect its master. Plenty of time. He finished his attack before disappearing yet again.

Cornelius on the other hand was left dealing with a number of feelings. First, was the surprise at the fact his opponent could teleport. Then there was the realization everything was a set-up for this moment – the cyclones, the exaggerated 'warning' attack, the reinforced 'final' attack of the four kunai, even the playing dead part and the halt of the air currents in the room. That was followed by the feeling of being lighter. A whole arm kind of lighter. All that was toppled by the immense amount of pain that made Wright fall to his knees and begin screaming.

"It's over" he heard Naruto's voice. "Maybe you should have taken your own advice to heart. Not that I'm complaining, you fell for it perfectly." The blond decided to keep the fact he had to endure a considerable amount of pain from that explosion himself. He sensed the impending headache from the concentration he had invested in returning to solid form and immediately casting **Armour **in the span of a second. He frowned, trying to shoo the pain away with little to no success, as he continued "You should surrender now before you bleed to death."

"My arm! You sneaky little bastard, you cut off my arm!"

"Or don't. I can just wait for you to pass out from blood loss and then take you in. Either way is fine with me."

Wright looked directly into his opponent's eyes and caught the determined look in them. Something else caught his attention though. For the first time since the battle had began, he had the feeling he had seen that boy before. He could not know if it was the excruciating pain, reminiscent of the one he had experienced twelve years ago, yet those whisker marks, those blue eyes and the sun-blond hair.. All that reminded him even further of that wretched night.

"You.. You are the boy. The one that had that Demon sealed in him, the one we summoned.." Naruto's sudden scowl was all the confirmation Wright needed "So you survived. And you have finally come for your revenge."

"Vengeance? For what? Bringing me here, freeing the Fox, almost killing me? Even if I had died it would had still been a better fate than the one I was living."

"Then.. Why?"

Naruto lifted an eyebrow "You've summoned Demons all around Fiore, sacrificed countless people and planed on sacking an entire village? I came here to stop you because I was hired, nothing more, nothing less" That was not the exact truth, yet the blond would prefer not to reveal it. Besides, judging by the amount of blood Wright was losing the summoner would pass out soon. After he was caught, then would the young Dragon Slayer question him about Kyuubi.

At the same time, Cornelius felt rage filling him, dulling out the pain and the numbness from his lost arm. Naruto's reason for stopping him was so infuriating, so.. insulting. In Wright's twisted world, vengeance would be a much better drive than justice. Justice made it sound like he was just some common criminal, like it was not personal.. like it was just business. He swore he would get the blond for that, even if it cost him his own life. Rising to his feet, Cornelius' eyes were lit aflame with ire and complete loss of sanity.

"You.. came here" his voice was trembling with barely contained anger, yet the fact he was speaking calmly rather than shouting put Naruto on his toes. "Ruined my plans. Destroyed my lab. Wounded me severely. Humiliated me. And you have the audacity to tell me it was for something simple like a job, despite the fact I ripped you apart and almost killed you twelve years ago?" Wright took a deep breath and spoke again, his voice sounding calm and serene, as if any traces of boiling rage never existed "I see what my mistake had been. It was 'almost'. I will correct that mistake at once."

All the remaining vials in the room burst at once and the chemicals they held merged with the remains of what was floating behind Wright's back. Cornelius hated the fact he needed to resolve to this, yet there was no choice. Despite his incredible stupidity and nosiness, the Sky Dragon Slayer proved to be a formidable opponent. He grabbed a hold of a small vial in one of his many pockets, before looking at the adversary that had bested him one final time "This is not over!"

It took Naruto only a moment to realize what was about to happen. He should have incapacitated Wright sooner, rather than wait for him to pass out! He had been hoping the insane sorcerer would reveal something on his own volition and spare him the work of having to get it out of him later. Fortunately, a moment was all he needed. The blond teleported back to the yard and did not even have the time to consider why exactly was it so bright outside when the mansion blew up, the resulting shock and heat wave throwing him on the ground where he shielded himself from the falling debris.

Rolling to his sides, Naruto stood up slightly and regarded the mansion. Or what was left of it. Great, now he had to search for Wright and that was in case the sorcerer survived. He stood up and was about to jump in when he was suddenly ran over by a full blown headache with a force of a train. At that moment, a number of body parts decided they did not want to be left behind and informed the blond of their various states, in a most painful manner. Naruto realized there might even be a small fire brewing on his back as well which meant he needed to find water fast. In conclusion, something or rather his body, told him it might not be such a good idea to go look for Wright at the present time and considering the way the battle had gone, his mind seemed inclined to agree. For now his plan was to get back to town or at least what was left of it, find a quite place and peacefully die for the next two or three days. At least until he sensed Shika calling.

**!~¡**

Drowning definitely was not Shikamaru's idea of a peaceful death. In fact, it went under the category of slow and painful in the Exceed's book. With the final vestiges of his breath leaving him he looked at the approaching abyss of the lake's bottom. Near him Jiraiya was not faring well either and he had only caught glimpse of the sinking redhead when they first got in the lake. In retrospect, perhaps he should have factored in Erza's heavy armour when he had come up with this particular plan. Then again, he had expected she would have enough power to switch to something else, a bit lighter preferably.

All those thoughts disappeared the moment he felt the pain from being yanked by the tail. He would have expressed some sort of protest towards the offender in the form of violent scratching and obscene screams, yet the lack of air and the presence of surrounding water made that a tad too impossible. At least until he rediscovered his ability to breath again which he employed immediately with new-found vigour.

"Well, that certainly got rid of the fire. I knew I can always count on you for such things, Shika." Naruto's voice brought comfort in the Exceed's body. Or maybe it was the air. Probably the air, Shikamaru loved air. "Mind telling me why you and Jiraiya decided it was a good idea to go for a late-night stroll in a freezing lake and subsequently forget how to swim?"

The white Exceed present in Naruto's other hand was content to just coughing for now so it fell to Shika to explain the situation "Erza is still at the bottom!"

"Brilliant" the blond groaned before he pointed the cats at the shore and send them flying with a lesser version of **Sky Dragon's Wings**. Ignoring the protests from his companions, he dove once more into the lake, fishing a lacryma crystal from his pocket and making it glow immediately. He found the redhead shortly afterwards at the bottom, clad in an armour he had not seen so far. Unfortunately, there was not much time to enjoy the sights considering the situation. Precisely why all of Naruto's thoughts on the new outfit revolved around how heavy it was.

With the added obstruction of the water, he was only able to lift it a little before he realized it was a wasted effort. What could he do then? Perhaps using his **Sky Dragon's Breath **to propel them to the surface and hope it would work? Or maybe.. The blond almost hit himself when he realized he was overlooking the simplest of things. Gripping Erza tightly he opted for teleporting out of the lake and nearly landing over Shikamaru and Jiraiya who were groaning at the shore.

He laid Erza to the ground and immediately found out she was not breathing. She still had pulse though which was really fortunate considering he would not have been able to perform CPR over this particular armour. Now he just needed to fix the other problem or face the irony of someone dying from lack of air in the presence of a Sky Dragon Slayer. Tilting her head back, the blond blew a couple of times in Erza's mouth until he felt her coughing up the water and taking a deep breath.

"Hey, welcome back!" the blond spoke as he leaned backwards. "Word of advice, next time you go for a swim maybe pick a different attire. I find bathing suits to be a good choice this season and much lighter than a full suit of armour."

"Funny" Erza's remark was the only remotely dry thing coming from her body. She made an attempt to lift herself up before her body decided to voice its protest. Being propelled into a lake from several meters in the air usually resulted in a number of painful bruises and fractures. Some might argue a suit of armour could lessen the impact, which sadly for them pointed out their idiocy. Because of that the redhead decided listening to her battered physiology might not be a bad idea every once in a while and that her efforts should be better spent at something else. Resting on the ground seemed like a good choice. She turned her head towards the blond who was now lying beside her "Thank you."

Naruto simply waved his hand dismissively before he spoke "So I take it you took care of the Behemoth?"

"Do you even need to ask? Of course, it was no problem at all" Jiraiya responded.

"Well, considering you were with them.." Naruto left the sentence unfinished, prompting a dejected "Hey!" from the white Exceed.

Erza stifled a chuckle and explained "Part of the town was destroyed and I think a large chunk of the forest might be replaced with a crater."

"Just means Nebula will have a new tourist attraction" Shika crawled on top of Naruto hoping to steal some of the blond's body heat. Jiraiya had a similar idea with Erza but a look from the redhead told him he should not push his luck too much. "What about the Demons and the summoner?"

"I took care of all the Demons, but.. Wright managed to escape."

"Wright?" Erza lifted a brow.

"Cornelius Wright. He's a very powerful Dark mage and apparently summoner" Naruto explained. "Sorry everyone, because I let him get away we failed the assignment."

Brief silence fell before the redhead spoke again "Not really. Our job was to get rid of the Demons, something we have managed to accomplish. The poster never said anything about a summoner." She gave Naruto a small smile "We'll get him next time."

Her response came in the form of the blond's light snoring. He was not the only one since the cats had joined him in a small chorus. The redhead felt her annoyance rising until it reached a critical level and to her surprise she burst into laughter. Her body immediately screamed in protest, yet the young woman did not care in the slightest. She was not sure what was it exactly that she found so funny. Maybe it was the fact the blond could not remain quiet even in his sleep. Or the fact he felt guilty and apologized for failing while at the same time he did not seem to lose much sleep over it. What kind of battle must have been fought to make the normally energetic Naruto tired enough to shut down in the middle of a conversation, with her of all people? And in the end, he had still managed to come to their aid and save them from the depths of the lake.

Light wrapped around Erza changing her armour into a set of dry warm clothes. She even brought out a large enough blanket to cover herself and the Caits. The redhead chuckled lightly, once more ignoring the pain from her battered ribs, before she let the exhaustion settle over her entire body and finally joined the trio in Dreamland. It was unlike her, but she would forgive Naruto's lack of manners just this one time.

**!~¡**

**[1]**Discovered by the famous explorer Alexander "I saw it" Simmons who claims to have lost his leg to them while taking a dip in Earth Land's famous Purple Acid Sea. Scientists have never been able to pinpoint any of their habits, migration patterns or even general appearance, but they unanimously agree their diet consists of brave explorers and unfortunate scientists. Should you ever find yourself in a predicament where you might get attacked by one of these creatures, remain completely calm. You will most likely experience a long and painful death, often involving large amounts of screaming.

**[2]**The term Naruto prefers in order to describe his messiness. His closest people utilize other terms like 'very', 'extremely', 'immensely' and 'too freaking much!'

**[3]**An industry that has thrived in the past couple of years with the unexplained appearances of many craters around Fiore and the nearby kingdoms. Many rumours suggest they are actually the product of clashes between hot-headed mages from some unnamed guilds. The Magic Council has neither confirmed nor denied such claims.

**[4]**Blumenblatt – flower petal (ger.)

**!~¡**

**Author's ramblings: **Finally! I have to admit, this chapter was really hard to write. It feels like a huge mountain has been lifted off my shoulders. Of course, chapter 10 is in the making and I am focusing on it, but I doubt it will give me as much trouble. I will skip over the personal reasons, since they were more in the background and not that interesting.

Funny fact, this chapter was done two weeks ago, the way it is now at least. But there were some scenes I had planned to add in chapter 9 and I tried writing them. It was really hard, mainly because the way it is finished is really good. When I wrote it, I felt "Ok, end of chapter here" before I even realized what I was thinking. So after two more weeks and after adding all the things I wanted to add originally, I realized they would make for a very good beginning of chapter 10 and I should have just listened to my gut and left chapter 9 the way I felt. The good news at least is, as I've said, chapter 10 has a beginning. I do need to make some adjustments to my plans for it though..

Anyway, enough with my senseless gibberish, this is so confusing I'm not sure that even I would be able to understand it 0.o Quick Q&A time! Without the questions.. That's right, I'll just put some major points here that generally answer most of the questions. It's been three months after all (sorry), so I think it's better if I make a serious one for the next chapter. If I fail to answer something now, just let me know and I'll do it next time. Unless it's about pairings.

Speaking of that, I think there might have been some confusion, so I'll say some things again. First, Naruto's romantic interest won't be an Original Character. At the time I said that, I had been still a bit undecided on the pairing so I left it as a 'everything is possible in the universe, I might get hit by a train tomorrow and change my mind' kind of possibility. So yeah, no Original Character, I promise that. Second, this will NOT be a harem. Come on, it's a serious story, harems don't have any places in those. Of course, there are exceptions, but I won't get into them, because this will NOT (second time for those that missed the first) be a harem story. And finally, I won't reveal who his romantic interest will be. Trust me, the story will be much more enjoyable if you don't know. Oh, I meant enjoyable for me, you'll probably suffer.

Moving on, I have to say I am a bit surprised at the amount of people who realized just last chapter that Wright was one of Kyuubi's summoners. I mean, I did write his name and all in the first and second chapters. I guess it was either because a long time passed or because people simply thought those were some insignificant characters I 'killed' back then. If it's the former, that's understandable, if it's the latter, mission accomplished ^^

Naruto joining Fairy Tail and why is the story named "Fairy Tail's Orange Flash"? That's a good point actually, the title was what came to me when I first started thinking of the story. Later on I decided I will separate it into parts and I even began exploring the possibility of Naruto NOT joining Fairy Tail. It's a work in progress and I am writing by feel after all. If it was an already completed book, who knows, it might have been called something else entirely. I am thinking of renaming part one into "Cait Shelter's Orange Flash" and leaving "Fairy Tail's etc." for part two, but we will see. Also, don't take anything for granted, I am a very unpredictable person. For all you know, I might have meant Fairy Tail's world when writing "Fairy Tail's Orange Flash", not the guild.

Erza joining Cait Shelter is an interesting idea. I toyed with it, but sadly I don't think it will fit the way I've planned things.

Props to **Lednacek** for figuring out Lilith would have given Naruto her Air Magic.

To answer **Jeremy Sentra**, until I read your review, I never even knew Mirajane's take-over Demon was called Lilith. So the answer would be no. Also, thanks for the example of serious humour. It's high-level stuff, but I think I might have some ideas.

The one year time skip at the end of prologue.. Well, I can't say I am a hundred percent happy about adding it like that, but unfortunately the alternative of starting chapter 5 with it and following it with another seven years of time skip would be worse. The idea of chapter five was a completely new beginning.

The Elemental nations will not make an appearance for a while, if any. I do have an idea and general plot-line, but.. Yeah, right now I'd say the Elemental Nations won't make an appearance, so consider them all dead or something. As for the personalities that appear and will continue to appear as Exceed, as I've said many times they are just added for the comedic effect. After all, the cats are one of the symbols of a Dragon Slayer and instead of making yet more Original Characters I thought it'd be funnie.. Um, I mean better to use existing personalities. Also, I think I've said this before, so I won't repeat it anymore. =3

Naruto won't be able to use any chakra and by extension jutsu. He also won't be able to recover it, because his chakra network has been permanently destroyed. He will use purely magic, so no Body Flicker or Sage Arts.

Naruto is a naturally open and trusting person. He can form a connection with people he likes immediately and even manages to form one with people he does not like, eventually. He also happens to be an excellent judge of character, whether it is his perception or intuition. So while it might not fall under most people's category of "common sense", for him it is a normal thing.

I don't remember what happened in chapter 573, but I just don't like Hinata as a character. Probably something to do with the fact there's a big possibility Naruto will end up with her in canon.

Nope, in chapter 4 Naruto and Inchiostro did not use Dragon Force. You'll know when they do, trust me. I can't wait to reach that point.

Yeah, I know my Author's Ramblings are long. I tend to ramble a lot.. Sorry about that, honestly, I knew I hadn't passed 100 000 words with only the story, but FF has a weird way of counting words and I was too lazy to individually count that myself. So thanks for doing that. If what you say is correct, then I think I might not have passed that mark with this chapter as well. Oh well, next time. Seems fitting for chapter 10, don't you think?

Well, we have Shika covering the lazy part and Jiraiya the perverted, so Kakashi wouldn't really fit. I guess what I'm saying is, yeah, I've really considered a Kakashi and he Might appear.

Yes, I am a fan of NCIS and Tony is my favourite character from there. Sadly, I won't include any more universes into this story. (Also, I was laughing for around thirty minutes after I read that review. Props to **j0hnni** for that)

That's pretty much it. If I missed something it was either accidental or I did not want to spoil anything. Thank you all for reading chapter 9 of **Fairy Tail's Orange Flash** as well as the constant support and wonderful reviews. Look forward to chapter 10 !~

**!~¡**


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